A Protecting Hero
by StingerShip
Summary: Oshiro is like an other B-Rank Border agent. He go on defense duty missions, enters the B-Rank Wars and helps put everywhere he can if asked. Yup. Just like an other B-Rank Border agent. This is the story of how he and his squad go through all of these things and more. (Disclaimer in bio. Yaoi.)
1. Hogo Squad

**Chapter 1:** Hogo Squad

* * *

Hogo Oshiro wasn't a bad person, he really wasn't. He may have looked like it with his heterochromatic red (contact) and blue eyes and black hair with white tips (dyed), but he really wasn't.

If you were to ask other people who knew him you would be told he's the type of person to help old people cross the street or jump into a raging river just to save a bunny. There have even been rumors that he once stopped a suicidal terrorist ready to blow up a bank.

He really wasn't a bad person.

So of course it would come to him as a shock if anyone thought badly of him.

"..."

"How long are you going to sulk for?"

"..."

Miwa Squad's Narasaka let out a sigh as Oshiro continued to look gloomy while Kodera, Narasaka's teammate, just looked confused.

The three were currently having their lunch outside on the nice day. They each had a bento in hand with Narasaka and Kodera's looking rather normal while Oshiro's was packed full of different kinds of meat.

"You're nice and all, but not everyone's going to like you. It's just how life is."

"... What did I do...? How can I apologize to them...?"

"Um... What's going on?"

"Katori had told him that she hated him while Kikuchihara said he was creepy. You can figure out the rest from there."

After hearing those words leave the Sniper's mouth, Oshiro seemed to get more gloomy and the two from Miwa Squad could swear they saw a dark and raining cloud appear above his head.

"Hogo-senpai, it's fine if a few people...think poorly of you. No one is perfect, so it's only natural."

"It's pointless trying to convince him of things like that, Shouhei. Things like these are the only things he's going to be stubborn about. The best thing we can do is to stall for time until he gets better."

Oshiro ignored the comment and started stuffing his face full of meat. Large tears could be seen running down his face, but Narasaka ignored him and focused more on his own lunch.

This didn't seem out of the ordinary at all for the latter.

Kodera let out a sheepish hum before going back to eating his own lunch. He had been through moments like these at least two other times, but he never knew what to say to make his upperclassman feel better.

The first time he saw Oshiro like this was when Kageura Squad's captain had told him that his kindess was irritating while the second time was when Hikigane Squad's captain said he didn't like Oshiro.

Remembering those times made Kodera shudder a bit.

"Well... At least Miwa-senpai and the other A-Ranks like you."

"Sniff sniff... Yeah... You're right..."

'... More like they tolerate him...'

Narasaka listened in as Kodera tried to sooth the B-Rank captain to the best of his abilities. That itself was a mission all on its own, he didn't bother to interrupt.

"Speaking of which... How _is_ Miwa-kun? Kirai-kun told me that you had fought against some chibi albino."

The two snipers froze up for a second before Narasaka let out a sigh and Kodera looked away.

Oshiro tilted his head on confusion.

"How does that guy even get his information?"

"Dunno. We've asked about it before, but we get the same answer as when we ask about his hat. 'Sorry, but that info is a secret. Unless you have the right price (Twinkle)'. We've just decided to give up on both answers."

"Sigh. It's nothing for you to worry about. It was just a little skirmish, that's all."

"Kirai-kun said Jin-san had to intervene."

"... Seriously, was he hiding out near there or something? Does he really have nothing to do? There was no one else there and he doesn't even have Bagworm in one of his slots. There's absolutely _no way_ he could have known that..."

"Well... He doesn't go to school... I'm sorry! It's my fault! I'm acting as a bad captain! I should make sure he gets a good education and not to spy on other agents! I'll take full responsibility! I know! I'll commit seppuku! ... No! I don't get that honor! I'll just jump!"

"Th-that's not it, Senpai! No one blames you for it! Wait! Please don't go towards the building!"

Narasaka went about ignoring the two yet again as Oshiro slammed his head to the ground while apologizing multiple times before trying to make a mad dash to the school and its stairs. Kodera tried to sooth his upperclassman again while grabbing his waist, but to no avail. This wasn't anything new, so it wasn't anything to worry about.

Although Narasaka did have to wonder if Oshiro was starting to get brain damage from smacking his head on the ground so many times.

As he ignored the two next to him, Narasaka had to wonder how exactly the second All-Rounder from Hogo Squad was able to get that information. He had never liked the boy who was a year older and knew that multiple agents also hated him since he seemed to always have new and updated information on everyone.

That person in Hogo Squad even got some of the friendliest people in Border to hate him without even doing much. Whether it was because of his information or because of the constant smug look on his face, he would be able to get them to hate him. It seemed like a natural talent of his.

"Crap! I forgot I have to go see Inu-san after school! Hm~... Kawa-chan is going to get so mad at me..."

"Why do you need to go see him?"

"I'm sure he can wait to coddle you for a while."

"No... It's that... I need to give him back his shirt..."

Narasaka gave a deadpan look while Kodera simply hid behind the glare of his glasses.

Oshiro blushed while he fidgeted in his spot.

"Maaaaan~~! This is all my fault...!"

"We can't argue with it this time," Narasaka and Kodera said simultaneously.

* * *

"If I can make it there quickly, return the shirt and run back I _should_ be able to make it in time and not get yelled at..."

Oshiro nodded to himself as he ran through the halls of Border's base.

Right after school had ended he had ran to his house, got changed into something more comfortable to move in and dashed towards the base as fast as he could. He really wanted to make it to the base within a certain time limit, but that idea was shot out of the window with a massive cannon once he noticed that every turn he took there was something that needed his help.

Being the nice and helpful guy he was, Oshiro had helped in each situation while also making sure not to get his boyfriend's shirt dirty in any way. This was a difficult task since some of the things that he helped out with involved trekking through mud, jumping into a river and carrying large bags full of cement. Thanks to all of that he was covered in different things, but the shirt was still perfectly clean in the bag it was held in.

Once he had made it into the base some C-Rank agents started whispering to each other about his appearance, but the ones who knew him had shut the C-Ranks up and let Oshiro be. He didn't really care though as he started running in the halls to make it to Ninomiya Squad's room.

As he ran through the halls he had to apologize to others there who he almost bumped into on accident.

"I can make it... I hope!"

With this thought in mind Oshiro continued to rush through the halls while panting like crazy.

He quickly turned a corner and couldn't see anything that was in it as he did so. And that was when it happened.

 **BAM!**

The bag that the shirt was in flew through the air and landed on the ground while Oshiro and the person he had bumped into fell on their butts.

Not bothering to even see who he had bumped into Oshiro got on his hands and knees before slamming his head on the ground and giving repeated apologizes.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going! I'm so, so, so sorry! It's my fault!"

"It's fine, Hero. I...wasn't really looking around either..."

Hearing the familiar voice, Oshiro looked up to see a tall male with black hair and freckles on his face. He recognized the A-Rank as Hatohara Minoru, one of his boyfriend's best friends.

"Ah! Hato- Er... Sorry. Minoru-senpai! Sorry for bumping into you! Ah! And I'm so sorry about getting your clothes dirty! I'll buy you some new clothes!"

"No need to go that far. This stuff will come out. Besides, you're still way more dirty than me."

"..."

After going and picking up the bag Oshiro looked closer at his upperclassman and frowned when he saw that Minoru had a tense smile on his face.

"Senpai... Did... Would you like to accompany me to go see Ninomiya Squad?"

Oshiro's voice changed to a more calm and relaxed one as he put up a kind smile. He could see this was working since Minoru's expression also seemed to relax a bit.

"... Yeah. That'd be nice."

The two had met thanks to Ninomiya Squad's Gunner introducing them. They had both gotten along well and quickly. They were both very friendly and were both willing to help out when asked.

At some point Oshiro had seen Minoru acting a bit strange, but was told that it was nothing. When he had asked Inukai about it later that day he had been told that the older one had been fighting depression.

After hearing that Oshiro had felt bad and blamed himself for not helping when he saw Minoru earlier. He had been determined to help out his upperclassman after that in any way he could.

'It's better if we just go see Ninomiya-san...'

Oshiro looked up at the A-Rank and noticed that he didn't have earbuds in his ears. Oshiro knew that the other would listen to music to drown out the voices in his head and got more worried.

"So... Ah! If you don't mind me asking, Senpai, where's Taka?"

"He's over at Tamakoma right now. I decided to let him stay there for a bit longer to play with Ketsu-san."

"Um... Senpai... Ketsu-san is going to be gone for a while. He should be back in a few days, but he isn't even in Mikado City at the moment."

"..."

"Senpai... Did you not know that?"

"..."

"Wah! I'm sorry! I shouldn't have mentioned anything! I'm so sorry! I'll do anything to-"

"Can you please keep it down. We could hear you throughout the whole hall."

The two stopped walking and looked forward to see the door leading to Ninomiya Squad's room open with their captain standing there while holding his head. Behind him Tsuji and Hiyami could be seen looking out while their last member...

"Shiro-chan!"

Oshiro was quickly tackled into a hug. He could feel someone else's face rub his own and blushed a bit at the contact.

The culprit of the attack was none other than Inukai Sumiharu. The instant he had seen the 1-year-younger agent he couldn't help but to run forward like a dog seeing his treat.

Ninomiya shook his head and went back into the room while Minoru followed behind, greeting the other two in the room.

"I-Inu-san, we should get in the room too."

"Shiro-chan~ I told you that you don't have to be so formal with your own boyfriend~"

"R-right. I'm sorry, Haru...san."

Inukai let out a small sigh. He grabbed Oshiro's hand and pulled him into the room.

"Hello, Tsuji-kun, Hiyami-san."

Tsuji and Hiyami gave their return greetings.

Inukai sat down and put Oshiro on his lap while wrapping his arms around the younger one's waist.

"So what were you two doing? Not that we don't like seeing you two."

"Oh... I had seen Senpai on my way here and asked if he wanted to join me."

Ninomiya took a look at his own boyfriend. He got a smile and made sure to make a mental note to talk to Minoru about it.

"I was on my way here to return your...shirt..."

Oshiro looked away with a light blush on his cheeks. He was always bashful when speaking to Inukai or about their relationship. It wasn't because of the fact they were both males or because he was embarrassed about the actual relationship. He was just the type to get flustered about his partner.

Inukai just stared at Oshiro for a few seconds before bursting out into laughter.

This caused Oshiro to blush even harder.

Ninomiya and Minoru decided to ignore them in favor of talking to each other.

Tsuji and Hiyami watched out of sheer bored.

The two did have to wonder how both their captain and Gunner managed to find people to be with that were on the opposite side of the personality scale.

Then they remembered the phrase "opposites attract".

"Why are you laughing!? What, I can't give my b-b-b-... Partner his shirt back!?"

"No, no! Heh heh... It's not that. It's just that... Hahaha! You didn't have to go through the trouble of washing it and personally returning it to me!"

Off to the side Ninomiya could be seen rolling his eyes while Minoru had a smile on his face.

The difference between the two relationships was blatant and obvious. No one cared about that though. Although it was amusing for others to compare the two relationships at times.

Seeing Oshiro start to pout, Inukai nuzzled his face into the other's hair.

"Aw~ Thank you though~ It's so cute when you do things like this~"

None of them thought it was possible, but Oshiro's blush grew yet again.

Before the two could say or do anything else, Hiyami interupted them without looking away from the monitor.

"Sorry to break up your...play time. But Kimura wants to know if you are over here. I told her you are, so maybe you should..."

"Ah! That's right!"

Oshiro jumped up from Inukai's lap so quickly that he had accidentally smashed into the blond's balls.

Inukai quickly bent over and covered his groin area as Oshiro raced out of the room.

"..."

"Haru-chan, you okay?"

"... He crushed my nuts and I don't even get a goodbye kiss..."

Everyone else in the room went about ignoring the blond in pain. They figured he was fine if he was complaining about not getting a kiss.

Inukai just groaned as he slumped to the ground.

* * *

The Shooter girl Hitsugi puffed out her cheeks with a look of displeasure in her eyes.

When she had heard that her captain was late to their meeting, she had noisily rushed around getting ready and then headed to his school to pick him up there, but, when she arrived, Oshiro wasn't there. She hadn't listened to their squad's Operator when she said he wasn't at school.

She had been thinking this was her chance to help him instead of the opposite happening and had even decided she would buy some macaroons to share with him, so her disappointment at being wrong was quite something. She had returned to the squad's room along with the homework that Narasaka said Oshiro had forgotten and now she (a minor) was at the tea table in the room gulping down the contents of a bottle. She even had dried squid prepared on a small dish.

The squad's Operator, and "manager", Kimura Kawaguchi looked at Hitsugi and paled. The short Kimura Akagawa (Kawaguchi's older brother) received the greatest shock because he had been the one that had secretly hidden the potato shochu in the storage space below the desk that only his sister could get to.

"U-um, Hitsugi-san...? I-it just seems there was a little bit of a mix-up, so you don't need to get so down about it..." said the married Teikō Reikyū (Hitsugi's older brother) with a wide forced smile on his face while he held Akagawa's arms behind his back.

Akagawa was struggling and yelling, "She! She stole! She stole my Potato Baron!"

In response, Hitsugi poured the liquid into a plain transparent cup and turned her gaze towards them with a blank look in her eyes and her head tilted to the side.

"Hic...I'm not...fheeling down... Dammit, thash's right, thash's right. Why am I...?"

She continued mumbling incoherently while barely moving her lips. She sounded like she was angry.

"...Really...what the hell ish a potato baron...? Thish alcohol has such annoying names... You can't tell if it'sh a potato or a sweet potato or what..."

"Then don't drink it! Don't steal my enjoyment!" yelled Akagawa with tears in his eyes.

That was when the Attacker of Miwa Squad came into the room with an excited look on his face and gave an announcement.

"Hey! It seems that Shiro is headed over here right now! According to Narasaka!"

Hitsugi hurriedly stood up. When she did, the bottle was knocked over and the high class liquid spilled out onto the tea table.

"Hgyaaaaahhhh! My Potato Baron!" shrieked Akagawa and the sister Kawaguchi chopped his neck with the side of her hand to quiet him, but Hitsugi wasn't paying them any heed.

A soft light started sparkling from all over Hitsugi's body, but her joyous expression suddenly stiffened.

She had realized just what a terrible sight she was.

Was she going to be seen in such a disgraceful way in front of her captain? Would she be seen drunk on potato shochu, every breath filled with the stench of alcohol, and dried squid legs stuck in the edge of her mouth?

"I-it would all be over! If that happened, it would all be over!"

She decided to at least do something about how she looked, so she ate all of the squid legs, popped a breath mint in her mouth, washed her face with the water Kawaguchi had near her desk, and stretched her back. But all those things were exactly the types of things a drunk did, so her red face made her look like an old man at the horse races.

'I need to focus on getting myself looking decent...!'

Just when Hitsugi started thinking more optimistically, Yoneya shook his head with a gentle look on his face.

"No, Hitsu-chan. Shiro is already nearby. He seems to be in a rush too."

Hitsugi's shoulders gave a large jump.

She thought while she wobbled on her feet.

'But why!? Why is he in such a rush!?'

But she did have an idea of why that boy would be in a rush.

'Oh, that's right. I have his homework...crap!'

Hitsugi was completely flustered and the sound of approaching footsteps reached her ears. Before she could do anything, she heard the sound of the door opening again.

The sound of Yoneya yelling "He's here!" rang in Hitsugi's ears.

The door itself was like any regular door, but the squad had decided to put a sort of see-through tarp over the entrance way to have a different sort of style to it. A familiar silhouette could clearly be seen through the see-through tarp.

'Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-what-what-what do I do!?'

She was completely cornered.

Hitsugi's face was completely pale as the see-through tarp was pushed to the side in front of her eyes. Hitsugi was sure that she was so drunk that the stench of alcohol was coming from every breath she took and even from every single one of her pores. Having reconfirmed what state she was in, Hitsugi's head was assaulted by absolute chaos.

'Waaaahhhh!'

And then...

"Tah dah! All-Rounder Hangyaku Kirai is here-bghaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!?"

Immediately after her male teammate that was also an All-Rounder revealed that he had been toying with her maiden heart, she didn't just overturn the tea table; she grabbed the tea table with one hand and mercilessly knocked Misó away with it. The large man's body was knocked outside of the room and Yoneya, who had been Misó's accomplice for the prank, paled.

"Uh... What's going on here?"

Everyone quickly turned to the doorway and saw the real Hogo Oshiro peaking his head in from the other side of the see-through tarp.

It was at this time Hitsugi felt lightheaded and fall back.

Reikyū had moved a pillow to the spot where her head would land and greeted the B-Rank captain.

"Yosuke-kun, why is Kirai-kun knocked out out there and why are you here?"

"Well... Ya see... Oh! Would you look at the time!? I'm pretty sure I'm suppose to help Shouhei with something!"

"Oh. Alright. I'll make sure to let Tsukimi-san know about this."

Oshiro watched as Yoneya stopped in his tracks, shuddered and quickly ran away.

Turning to his unconscious teammate in the hall, Oshiro walked over and dragged him inside the room.

"Well, now that he's here, we're gonna head out," Reikyū said as he headed for the door with Akagawa over his shoulder. "I'll see ya guys later."

Oshiro gave a wave to the man. He turned to his Operator and saw that he was getting a harsh glare.

He waisted no time in going to his knees with his forhead touching the ground.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so, so, so sorry! I had to give Haru-san his shirt back, but I ended up seeing some people in need of help! And then I ended up staying too long with Ninomiya Squad! I'm so sorry!"

"... Sigh. It's fine. I already figured that's what happened. Just make sure to really hurry up next time so we don't have to clean up the mess Hitsugi makes."

"Right!"

Oshiro went over and put Misó on one of the sofas in the room before doing the same with Hitsugi.

He himself went and sat on the remaining chair. He turned his head over to see Kimura typing away on the keyboard.

"So, since these two are knocked out, what did you need me for?"

"Well, we have a squad meeting to discuss what to do about you offering us to help Arashiyama Squad with the next Enlistment Day and for the next few defense duty missions."

"Besides that. You wouldn't message me personality to hurry up. You would usually ask around since I leave my phone at home at times."

"It's nothing much. I just wanted to make sure you were fine and healthy. With how you are I would expect you to kick the bucket before Nasu-chan or Tsukiko-senpai do. And also..."

Oshiro was a bit more alert now. He only saw the look he was getting when Kimura was really serious about something.

"Misó has told me something concerning the higher-ups and Tamakoma. You would probably tell you when he wakes up, but I'll let you know right now. _Commander Kido is going to send the top 3 squads to Tamakoma and retrieve a new Black Trigger from them_."

Oshiro went a bit wide eyed at hearing this.

He knew about Fujin, but he didn't know they had another Black Trigger. What's more is that it was coming from his own squad member (somehow) and so it wouldn't be a lie.

He turned his attention from Kimura to the sleeping Misó.

'Where does he get this information...?'

* * *

Oshiro Hogo

All-Rounder, Captain

\- 17 Years Old

\- Born Nov. 21

\- Chronos, Bloody Type A

\- Height: 5'7"

\- Likes: Protecting, Friends, Meat, Macaroons

Hitsugi Teikō

Shooter

\- 19 Years Old

\- Born March 22

\- Falco, Bloody Type B

\- Height: 5'5"

\- Likes: Takoyaki, Anime, Stars

Misó Epanástasi

All-Rounder

\- 18 Years Old

\- Born May 18

\- Felis, Bloody Type AB

\- Height: 6'

\- Likes: Pain (delivering & receiving), Light Novels, Earth

Kawaguchi Kimura

Operator

\- 17 Years Old

\- Born Mar. 20

\- Apis, Bloody Type O

\- Height: 5'2"

\- Likes: Hard work, Asymmetry, The mind


	2. Oshiro Hogo

**Note:** This fic more-or-less runs parallel to Sick Snow, meaning there might be some spoilers for things in Sick Snow

* * *

 **Chapter 2:** Oshiro Hogo

* * *

'The wires are set up... Although I doubt they'll hold them off for too long... Maybe I should place some around the branch office as well...'

Oshiro sat behind an empty house as he waited for the top squads in Border to pass by.

He was in his in his semi-strange Border uniform consisting of a hoodie under what looked to be a yukata top and pants that had knots at the ankles and just above the knees.

He had been told by his teammate about this whole thing going on and planned on at least slowing it down.

He did have to wonder just _how_ Misó was able to get this information though.

He had the simple plan of stalling for time and helping Jin and the three other squads that would be joining him out with the fight. The only way he was able to find out that Jin and the three other squads that would be joining him would be there was, yet again, because of his teammate with mysterious information gathering skills.

 _"And why exactly are you doing this alone?"_

Oshiro jumped when he heard the familiar voice of his Operator. He haven't told any of his teammates that he would be going to help out, so this surpsied him a bit. Althought after a few seconds he figured that Misó had somehow found out about this and told his Operator.

"Um..."

 _"No need to explain. It was a rhetorical question. I already know how things work with you. Sigh. Whatever. I've already sent the information for your wires to the other squads and Jin-san. I've gotta say that you did a pretty good job with them."_

"I had to do a good job. If it's for the sake of protecting then I can't be lazy or slip up."

 _"..."_

"Kawa-cha-"

 _"Get ready."_

Quickly standing up, Oshiro looked from behind the building to see Tachikawa Squad's Tachikawa Kei and Izumi Kouhei, Fuyushima Squad's Touma Isami, all of Kazama Squad, all of Bakuto Squad and Miwa Squad's Miwa Shuuji and Narasaka Tōru run by.

'Miwa Squad... I was hoping Kirai-kun's information on them was wrong... Maaaaaaaan~ They're gonna hate me after this~!'

Keeping his focus on the squads, Oshiro silently and quickly moved from behind the building to follow them. That didn't last long though as the top squads stopped in their tracks and faced Jin Yuuichi, who was now standing in their way with the Black Trigger Fujin at his side.

 _"Do you plan on going forward like a hero and attack them head on?_ "

Oshiro shook his head and whispered back to Kimura.

"Protecting others doesn't always mean going head-first into a fight with a battle cry. I'll just be providing supposed via Spider and Hound."

Oshiro continued to listen in on the conversation going on between the top agents. He heard about the information Misó haven't given him about the reasoning behind this sneak attack against Tamakoma. After hearing it he got more determined to help out against the top squads.

It wasn't long before a chorus of "Reporting" from three new A-Ranks was heard.

'Onii-san!?'

Oshiro looked to one of the buildings near Jin to see Minoru standing there with someone else. The other person was a male with black hair that covered his left eye and onyx eyes. On the other building stood Arashiyama Squad.

 _"Looks like you really weren't needed here if Tsukiko, Hatohara and Arashiyama Squads are joining in."_

'Why didn't you tell me that Minoru-senpai's and Onii-san's squads were going to help out!?'

 _"Well actually, Tsukiko-senpai and Suzume-chan are the only ones from Tsukiko Squad that will be joining in."_

'That's besides the point!'

Oshiro let out a small sigh as he saw the fight really start.

He saw how Kazama Squad started for Jin and were pushed back before Tachikawa went forward to an attack. He also saw how this part of the fight was ended by Arashiyama firing off a Meteora shot.

He could hear the top squads discussing what to do next and wanted to inform Jin and the supporting squads.

Before he could though, he could see Denji mutter something. It seemed to be an order as cubes of Trion appeared around Yorushi like a double helix before firing off.

Right in his direction.

Oshiro didn't waste any time in moving back from the shots. They turned out to be Hound, so he brought up a Shield while not noticing he had ended up on the roof of the house.

"Hogo, leave."

That simple command from Miwa made Oshiro freeze.

He looked down at the top squads and started to put his hand on the hilt of his Kōgetsu.

"You have no business being here," was all that Yorushi said as he pushed up his glasses.

Oshiro went wide eyed when he was quickly filled with multiple holes from behind.

Cracks started appearing on his body as he gritted his teeth. A cube of Trion appeared next to him and fired off multiple shots before he turned into light and flew off towards Border's base.

* * *

"FUCK!"

Kimura silently sat in her seat as she watched her captain standing in the roof. His fists were clenched hard enough that it seemed his nails actually cut through his skin, letting some blood land on the floor.

After kicking the wall, Oshiro just stood there with a frustrated look and clenched fists.

He knew that the squads that were out there could handle the fighting without him, but he hated that he couldn't do more than just set up some wires. The thing he hated the most was feeling so powerless when he knew he could do more.

That was the exact feeling he had right now.

Kimura always felt bad for her captain when he got like this. She never knew what exactly to say to him at times like these, but she always tried to help him out. She would do so again here and opened her mouth to speak.

"O-"

Before she could start the sound of a phone going off could be heard in the room. The ringtone belonged to Oshiro's phone.

After three minutes of ringing non-stop Oshiro got the phone from his pocket and looked at the screen to see that Misó was the one who was calling him. He answered the phone and put it on Speaker so that Kimura could also hear.

 _"Yo~ Captain~! Sucks that you had to Bail Out so quickly~! Not sure if Kawa-tan said anything yet, but I thought I should tell you who is fighting who~ In one corner was have Arashiyama Squad, Suzu-chan and Nikko-chan fighting against Shuuji, Yosuke, Isami and Kouhei~! Before this amazing battle started we had Suzu-chan take out Tōru,_ _Shouhei_ and _Yoru while Nikko-chan helped out with getting rid of Mori! Anywho~ In another corner we have Yuuichi against Kei, Soya-san and Ryo while being able to take out Shiro #2! Did you know that Black Triggers are awesome? Off topic! Back on topic! The last match-up is Denji against Kiyoshi and Minoruru~ Gotta say that the psychological warfare Denji goes with is crazy~"_

Oshiro looked ready to smash the phone in his hand.

Kimura quickly got up and grabbed the phone just before it was destroyed. She moved back just as her captain turned back around and kicked the wall again.

"Misó, where are you?"

 _"Huh? Oh! Kawa-tan! I'm right here on the battlefield! I've got Bagworm on and everything!"_

"Last I checked you don't _have_ Bagworm for one of you slots."

 _"I thought I would change it up a bit for now. Pretty cool, right?"_

"... What Trigger are you using? You're not connected to our-"

 _"Oh. I took a spare just in case. This one is a different one~ Sorry~ Forgot to tell ya~"_

"Misó!"

 _"Sorry! Gotta go! Things are getting good! See ya two later!"_

Kimura glared at the phone in her hand as the call ended, bringing a long and dull sound through the speakers.

"..."

Kimura didn't say anything as she watched her captain's next action. She did try to stop him as he did the action though.

Oshiro, not seeming to be calm in the slightest, slammed his foot into the wall for a third time. The difference between this time and the other two was that there was a sickening sound that came from the impact.

"Oshiro!"

Kimura tried to stop her captain, but she wasn't as strong as he was, so she couldn't do much when he started punching the wall multiple times until he started bleeding again.

* * *

 _"WAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"_

 _"Somebody! Somebody, please help!"_

 _Destroyed buildings were everywhere. They were accompanied by large white creatures with different appearances. Some looked like odd-looking crabs while others could be considered some type of undiscovered dinosaurs._

 _As these white creatures walked through the destroyed buildings, multiple people ran way from them in terror and fright._

 _These creatures were strong. They were strong to the point that war tanks and missiles meant nothing to them. They brushed off these attacks like a person would a fly._

 _Some people with weird weapons had appeared and started taking out these creatures with these glowing weapons that looked like green, glowing swords and the like. They were doing what even a war tank or missile couldn't._

 _In one of the areas that hadn't been clear of the creatures was a single boy with black hair and blue eyes. He stood in front of a destroyed house with wide eyes and tears running down his face._

 _He quickly ran to the destroyed house and moved whatever he could. He couldn't move the bigger pieces through._

 _"Shiro!"_

* * *

Oshiro woke up in a hospital bed.

He was in the familiar hospital room he was acquainted with, and it seemed like he had been moved to the hospital after blanking out. This wasn't his first visit here and it was because of the same reason as the times before.

He could tell his foot and arm were numbed by some drugs he was probably given. Although a bit dull pain was started to appear.

"Ah, you're awake?"

The voice belonged to Kimura, who was sitting in the visitor's chair. Oshiro wanted to sit up, but his body failed to move as he commanded. It wasn't just because he was injured: There was an abnormal sense of fatigue, as he could not call upon any strength at all. It was like his entire body was held down by the fatigue accumulated onto him.

While Oshiro felt bothered by such an uncomfortable feeling, the person beside him felt relieved and relaxed her shoulders before saying, "No, it's normal for you to be so unable to move. You always get too riled up and this time seemed like one of the worst times for you. Although that's to be expected since both Tsukiko-senpai and Minoru-senpai were fighting against Bakuto-san."

From Kimura's words and tone, Oshiro knew that they had won that fight. Apparently the whole thing had been settled with a compromise. However, there was no sense of comfort on Oshiro's side.

Truthfully, Oshiro did not remember much after he had Bailed Out. For some reason he thought he had heard Misó at some point, but that seemed more like a dream than reality.

"I know you worry about others way more than yourself, but continuing on like this is bad for you. You get too self destructive when you can't help others."

"... Sorry... I'm sure you already know though. I probably went on that rage-endured wall attack more because of Bakuto-san and his fight than having to Bail Out. Minoru-senpai and Onii-san are trying to get past their issues and that man doesn't help anything with his psychological warfare."

Kimura nodded her head. She didn't know the full of the issues the two older ones had to deal with, but she knew that her captain felt the need to place them higher than most on his personal "must protect" list.

It should be noted that Kimura would also help out if needed. She had tried to help both Minoru and Yuki with whatever issues they had since she already had an interest in minds and thought processes. She was been (kindly) rejected by both though. She didn't push the matter in the slightest and was just like anyone else to them.

"Ah... speaking of which, what happened with the fights? Everyone is fine, right?! No one is going crazy or attacking each other again, right!?"

"Ah...no...you can't get out of the bed now!"

Oshiro tried to sit up, only for Kimura to force him back down by pushing down on his shoulders with her hands. The result was that both their faces ended up five centimeters apart. Shocked, Kimura's blushing face showed itself to Oshiro, and Oshiro felt there was a wall of air between them. Even so, the option of pulling away never presented itself to his mind.

At that moment, "Shiro-chan's still Shiro-chan."

Looking towards the origin of the voice, they saw Inukai rushing to the bed and quickly hugging Oshiro.

"H-H-Haru-san!? Hey! Please let go! A-a-and what are you doing here!? Should y-you be-"

"Kawa-chan told me about your little rampage! There's no way I _wouldn't_ come and see you! They kicked me out before, but I'm back! Why the heck are the people I know so-!"

"Ahem! Captain, they said you will be fine. Nothing was broken _this time_ , but you did manage to mess up some bones in your toes. They said to be careful with that."

"R-right... Sorry."

* * *

In the long corridors of the hospital, Hitsugi stood outside the room where a conversation was underway. She too had come to visit a certain patient, but it seemed she had completely missed her chance to make an entrance (it could be said Kimura was a step ahead of her), and now she was flustered about what to do next.

 _'_...What should I do? There's no way I can just walk in when he's being coddled like that by those two! Seriously, why the heck is there always a mess up with this guy!?'

"Nee-chin...if you keep being so indecisive, what little self-restraint and patience you have left is going to run out, y'know?"

This sudden voice came from directly behind her, causing Hitsugi to jerk on instinct. Turning around, she saw the speaker was the black-haired, cap-wearing Misó.

Misó gently raised his hand to the side of his mouth and spoke with a bemused smile, "Finally, after so much effort, you've managed to find time in your 'busy schedule' to come to the hospital, yet because of Kawa-tan and that dog boy you're unable to utter even a word?"

"I-I understand that! But...how do I put it... Even considering a private conversation involving a deep conversation has me extremely embarrassed. With Kawa-chan and Sumiharu present it's... I'll just wait a bit longer... Besides, I'm not the type to seem like getting to deep issues. That's more Kawa-chan's thing."

"Then that fallen angel costume...did you remember to bring it along?"

"Wh-what? Wh-why would I bring such a thing?! Even if I were to go through with such a stupid plan and wear it, it would only be in a 1-on-1 situation! I would never go in looking like that when Kawa-chan and Sumiharu are present!"

Such a situation made one terrified just thinking about it.

Hitsugi shook her head vigorously, trying to remove such thoughts from her mind, but it seemed Misó anticipated such a response and nodded his head wisely, "For this determined yet shy Nee-chin... hmph! Today I prepared an improved 'Erotic Maid Bunny Girl'! It's even better than Beni-chan's!"

"Tell me what part of this costume was 'improved'?!"

"Eh? What are you talking about? Look: The amount of cleavage exposed here, and the transparency of the skirt here, and..."

With all the strength her arms possessed, Hitsugi pinned Misó's arms together, just before he could stretch out the costume to better display it to her. Despite being gripped by the strength of a strong girl, Misó had a smile on his face.

"Then what is your plan? Nee-chin, you better explain what you're going to do quickly. Are you going to rely solely on a normal smile to change his sexuality? Think this through, foolish Nee-chin! The situation has already progressed to the point that retreat is no longer an option! Don't think you'll be forgiven for such simple tactics!"

Even thought it had always been assumed that Oshiro was gay for having Inukai as a boyfriend, in reality he was just attracted to Inukai and Inukai alone. He did find girls attractive though, so that's why stuff like this would happen from time-to-time.

Hitsugi took a step back, talking frantically, "Then what do you suggest I do? Even if it means I owe you even more, as long as it's within my power to do so I shall put all my effort into it!"

"Rubbing while you're holding it. You should be able to do that right?"

"Ho-hold what?"

"You innocent idiot! Okay, let me ask you this: Nee-chin, what do they exist for? Those characteristics unique to mammals - that is to say, those breasts of yours - what do they exist for? Tell me!"

"A-At the very least, they are not for rubbing and holding objects between them!"

The things Misó was trying to tell Hitsugi made no sense to her, and she wore a confused expression. Faced with an innocent Hitsugi who could not understand the true meaning of his words, Misó was at a loss.

"But really, Nee-chin, is it okay for you to walk in so carefree?"

"Wha–what?"

"...That girl, if it's Kawa-tan, she would have worn an erotic fallen angel costume without a second thought!"

"Th-that sort of outfit? She wouldn't dare...!"

The two engaged in meaningless whispers.

With a devilish smile on his face, Misó said, "How can you be so sure? Kawa-tan isn't as innocent as you, so as a result she can do such an outrageous thing. Even though that 'wet napkin plan' of hers failed multiple times, you can tell she had been putting a lot of effort into winning our lovely captain's heart. The Kawa-tan who failed several times, if she was able to obtain something that would improve on what she is lacking, something that would give her an advantage - that is to say, something like this erotic fallen angel costume...in that instant, I wonder how high her 'attack power' would become?"

"Tha-that's impossible! This sort of situation would never befall someone belonging to-!"

"Now that I think about it, holding and rubbing it wouldn't be a problem for Kawa-tan with measurements like hers..."

"As I said before: 'What exactly are we supposed to be holding?!'"

If someone were to watch these two they would most likely remind the two that Oshiro was already in a happy relationship with the Gunner from Ninomiya Squad. But since no one else was around they continued on.

Faced with Hitsugi's innocence, Misó was unable reply, and it was beginning to give him a headache. It seemed a change in tactics was required.

"In the end, I see Nee-chin is _that_ type of person... Fleeing because she's too embarrassed... Have you no gratitude at all for Shiro-kyun?"

"It's not like that! It's just that all this talk of 'erotic costumes' is going way too far! I just want to use normal methods!"

"Kawa-tan wouldn't mind though, would she? That's because the gratitude she has towards Shiro-kyun is stronger than yours. To tell you the truth, even with just the 'normal' fallen angel costume, Kawa-tan's attack level would rise quite a bit. And if she wears the improved 'erotic' maid bunny girl costume... Do you know what this new gap would mean?"

"Wha-what... what would it mean?"

"It means, Nee-chin, you have lost to Kawa-tan as a woman."

"Eh?!"

"Sigh. This woman, she only has high self-esteem; she doesn't have any idea about the meaning of 'lowering one's self', like our captain does. With that type of person, how are others suppose to look up to her? Nee-chin, could it be that the moment you're faced with a challenge, you think only of yourself and leave everyone else behind?"

"Th-this harsh language, just for an erotic maid bunny girl costume... Is it really necessary to go so far?"

Even though she was certain of her position, Misó's words caused Hitsugi's heart to begin to falter. She didn't know if it was because of any feelings she had towards Oshiro but, before long, Hitsugi mind was utterly disoriented.

'N–No! This is all part of Misó's plan! 'Erotic maid bunny girl costume'! How could that sort of object be used to judge a woman?! Wait, that isn't the point! It's not a question of being a woman, it's what method I should use to express my feelings... But even if I don't use the erotic maid bunny girl costume... I cannot think of any other methods at all! Aah! I cannot be so weak! I...! This is Misó's trap! No, but... calm down! I have to calm down so can I think this through!'

"Hm? Nee-chin?"

Seeing Hitsugi so absorbed in her own thoughts, Misó was a bit worried.

Regardless of whether or not she heard Misó, Hitsugi's multiple facial expressions slowly disappeared, to be replaced by an expression of serenity as Hitsugi sat down in the corridor. With exaggeratedly slow movements, Hitsugi, seemingly from nowhere, took out ten or so tiles and raised them.

"GNRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

From above the center of the tiles, Hitsugi's fist came crashing down. It was not a question of whether the tiles were intact anymore, as Hitsugi's fist was smashed to the floor.

As the sound of breaking tiles echoed along the corridor, Hitsugi spoke to Misó in an exceedingly cold voice, "It's alright; I've thought it through."

On the other hand, Misó, faced with the erratic behavior of the woman before him, could not help but feel a bit uneasy.

'Crap, I was only teasing her, but maybe I went a little overboard?'

As sweat trickled down Misó's face, Hitsugi slowly straightened out her hand, her fingers straight as a pencil, as if she was about to perform a Karate chop. The overall feeling was as if Hitsugi was preparing to crush Misó's skull with her bare hand.

"Misó?"

"Y-Yes?"

"I am prepared. Give it to me."

10 minutes later, after punching the devilishly grinning Misó in the face, taking a huge step forward as a woman and leveling up in an entirely different manner than she had intended, the Shooter of Hogo Squad, Teikō Hitsugi, stormed into a certain room in the hospital.

Afterwards, to preserve the reputation of the female Shooter, it did not matter what happened to the world, even if the world was thrown into chaos. One thing was certain: Hogo Oshiro, the captain of his own B-Rank squad and an All-Rounder, would most certainly feel nothing but fear upon seeing that costume from today onward.

* * *

Oshiro Hogo

 **Main Trigger**

Kōgetsu

Senku

Shield

Meteora

 **Sub Trigger**

Viper

Spider

Scorpion

Hound


	3. Misó Epanástasi

**My first official A/N... Anyways. I just wanted to give a bit of a warning to anyone reading this. This chapter is sorta...dark? Freaky? Uh... Something like that. Misó turned out to be a very...** ** _different character_** **to write.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3:** Misó Epanástasi

* * *

He enjoyed pain.

Whether it was receiving the pain from a simple toe stumping or receiving a hammer to the stomach. He enjoyed pain.

Whether it was giving pain from a simple flick to the neck or giving a brick to some unsuspecting person's head. He enjoyed pain.

It didn't even have to be physical pain. It could be the pain of a broken heart or the pain of making someone remember a bad memory. As long as pain was involved then he didn't care in the slightest and relished in it like a kid would if they were told they could have anything and everything in a candy store.

That was exactly why he always made sure to have new and updated information on others. He knew it would bring them pain knowing that nothing was a secret from him. He knew that he would have to deal with the pain of their hateful glares as he passed by them in the hall. He would hold that information over their heads like bait and just as they would take it he would pull it back and watch their frustrated, painful and sometimes crying faces as they tried to get that secret information only they knew back.

He had a list of people he loved to hurt the most and a list of people he admired for their effortless ability cause pain in some shape or form to others. Among that list was Bakuto Denji, Taiyōko Kushikage and Kageura Masato. He could admire them all day until it hurt his eyes, causing him pain. The pain of being frightened by Kageura and seeing him get "hit" by the negative emotions aimed at him, the pain of Denji's "Psychological Warfare" and the mental pain it brought to people who heard him speak, the physical pain Kushikage could inflict on others with her ability as a natural soldier. They all had a quality that made him admire them, but never wish to be them.

He was him and no one else.

And besides...

 _He already had a plan to inflict the most amount of pain on the person who's always in pain._

* * *

Misó Epanástasi looked down at his finger as blood came out of the small opening that had been made.

He had been making something to eat and accidentally cut himself on the finger. He gave a long and hard look at the cut before letting out a sigh.

"It's small, but I suppose it's something. Really, I thought it would be bigger if I used a bigger knife."

Misó was a rather good looking guy with a face that male models would be jealous of and female models would love to be around. He had black hair that was always kept under a cap, giving him a sort of young and charming feel to him. The hat was only ever off his head when he was in his Trion body, but that wouldn't really he considered "off" to others.

"Seeing Shiro-kyun in the hospital did rile me up a bit, but that wasn't much. If anything, it was Nee-chin that really did it. I wonder if she has been taking lessons from Fuji without any of us knowing. ... Ah. Who am I kidding? I would know if she was."

As he spoke to himself he walked over to his finished food - with a bit of blood on it - and took the food to the open area in the next room. He had dumped the dishes he used carelessly into the skink and grinned as he saw that his favorite horror movie was on the small television.

The room was a wide-open area with a simple mat, a small table and a small TV. It really looked like an empty room that someone forgot about when they were designing the place.

That was to be expected though. Misó had kicked the old man that lived in the apartment building out by using some information he got. After that he had used different information to make the owner of the complex let him live there for free. He himself bought the small amount of things in the apartment, but that's only because he had given a good amount of his pay as a Border agent to some fishermen.

Well, saying that he "gave" them the money was wrong. What he really did was toss the money into the lake they were fishing in and watched their faces go into a mix of shock and anger.

As he watched the people on the movie get hacked at and slashed at he heard a small ring going off.

He turned away from the movie and picked up his phone to see that he was getting a call from Hitsugi.

"Hello, Nee-chin~ What can I do for you on this-"

 _"Get your ass over here! We have defense duty in 30 minutes! We thought you would at least be on your way here, but you aren't! Are you!?"_

"How ever did you know? That should be a major secret. Really~ Are you some mind of psychic who can look into a crystal ball and see what's going on all over the world?"

 _"Shut up and get your ass over here! Besides, I should be asking you if you have some kind of evil crystal ball!"_

Once Misó heard the dull ring coming from his phone he placed it down and turned back to the TV without a care. He continued to eat his food as he watched a girl get decaptiated and laughed once he saw another person get cut in half.

"Man~ How do people make this kind of comedy gold!?"

* * *

Misó walked through the Border base as he made his way to his squad's room. There was still five minutes before they had to start their defense duty, so he figured he would go around and see who he could bug.

As he walked around he saw two familiar people walking as well. One was a brown haired boy with a trapper hat while the other was a gray haired boy with a scarf around his neck. He knew them as the Attacker and Shooter of a different B-Rank squad that his own captain was well aquatinted with.

Getting a grin on his face, Misó made his way over to the two.

Being quite enough to do so, he grabbed the two ends of the scarf around the gray-haired boy's neck and slowly pulled both ends.

The reaction he got was the one he wanted. The gray-haired boy seemed to freeze a bit as he tried to pull the scarf away without damaging it. The brunet next to him quickly turned around and tried to grab Misó's arm.

Misó was too quick and pulled back his arms.

He met the brunet's glare with his grin.

"Aw~ A little choking won't do much to the kid who only seeing black and white, right? Why ruin the fun~?"

The gray-haired boy (Takeshi) tugged at his scarf a bit and gave Misó a dull expression.

"Y'know, I've been wondering something." As he spoke, Misó got a little closer to Takeshi. "Are you colorblind, or does this whole 'only see in black and white' represent anything?"

He moved his hand up and put his fingers above and under Takeshi's eyes.

" _Maybe I should take your eye out and see for myself."_

Getting a vivid image of his eye being taken out in a brutal fashion, Takeshi took a step back as a sweat started to appear on his face. That was something not just anyone could make him do.

The brunet (Toby) didn't take kindly to this at all. He grabbed Misó by the front of his shirt and gave a glare that he only showed to the two people he hated the most in the world.

"(Stay the fuck away from Takeshi.)"

"(Oh~? I was just kidding~ No need to be such an over-protective boyfriend~ Are all Americans this aggressive? _Or is it just the rich ones_? Besides, didn't you have a massive boner for your captain? What ever happened to that?)"

Toby tossed Misó to the ground and was about to kick him. He only stopped when another leg came from the side and kicked Misó. The kick was hard enough to send him into the air for a few second before rolling on the ground.

The owner of the slender leg was a girl with hair in a hime-cut style and an ever calm and collected expression. The only thing was that she seemed to have a ferocious aura around her right how.

"Aaaaaaaahhhh~~ Such exquisite pain~~ Leave it to Fu- Ah! I mean to the lovely and brutal Mei to give such a feeling! Only her and her powerful legs can deliver such a thing to me~!

Misó stood up and dusted himself off as if he hadn't just been kicked with double the force of a pro martial artist. He walked back over to the three, ignoring the looks from the onlookers. He could see that Toby was now standing rather protectively in front of Takeshi while Mei stood in front of both of them.

"Epanástasi, please leave. Kimura-chan has told me that you should be with them by now. So leave."

"Aw~ No need to be so mean~ And I've told everyone to just call me Kirai while I'm here~"

"..."

"Fine, fine. I'll get going now. Ah! But I did want to ask you something first!" Grinning at the three, he continued. "I've been watching this anime where these people are locked up together and must kill each other to escape. I wanted to know... _How do you think something like that would turn out if something like that happened at this very base_?"

Mei's expression didn't change in the slightest, but her general feel as a person seemed to grow. That's all that was needed to make Misó turn around and give a small wave.

"Well, I suppose you can answer at some other time. Oh! And make sure to tell Kiyoshi I said hi~!"

* * *

No one minded when their captain offered to help out another squad with defense duty. They understood that he just wanted to help out, so they went along with it.

That being said, they had forgotten that Misó was the type of person who people hated while others loved him for his general good looks. The former of that was very important since they stood there, Suwa Squad in front of them, watching as Misó seemed to go off on his own little decisions.

"I say that since there are three and three that we each take somebody and go~ Captain for captain, long range for long range and I take Hisa-tan with me~"

Both squads wre going to readily object to this, but Misó said something that kept all their mouthes shut.

" _Maybe I should tell all of Border about-_ "

They all let out simultaneous sighs with Hitsugi and Suwa glaring at Misó.

Misó didn't seem to mind as he put an arm around Hisato's shoulder.

"Great. Glad we can get along."

They all went their separate ways to wait and see if any Gates would open up.

As they did so, Misó started to pull Hisato in one direction. He could tell that Hisato was trying to move away from him, but he made sure that didn't happen.

They continued to walk around with Hisato basically being pulled by the neck. The walk seemed like one an old couple would take through a park before sitting down and feeding the birds nearby. The only thing was that they were suppose to be alert for any Gates that may open.

"Epan-"

"Y'know, Hisa-tan, I've been wondering something. You know about Dai-tan's Side Effect right?"

"... Ye-"

"Of course you do! My bad, my bad! I completely forgot that you were getting banged by him! Ah! That was completely my fault! By the way, have you told your parents about that?"

Taking a quick glance to the side, Misó could see Hisato was looking away.

"Anyways, anyways~ I was thinking! 'Hey! His Side Effect is pretty awesome, but what if he uses it on Hisa-tan more than he thinks!? What if he is always around, but no one notices him because of his Side Effect? Ah! What if he's bangin' someone else without Hisa-tan even knowing since he could basically forget about Dai-tan!? Wouldn't Hisa-tan be in major pain!?' That's not to mention he always describes himself as 'dull' and 'boring'. He could just be playing you and in reality just pretends to 'love' you for whatever reason? That would kinda suck, wouldn't it?"

"... He wouldn't-"

"Please do well to remember that he's on the same squad as Sekai and Jinsei, who both deceive people in some way. Look, I'm just trying to help you out to the beeeeest of my ability~ I'm looking out for you and your innocence. Ah. Wait. You probably lost that last thing to Dai-tan, right?"

Hisato started to look very uncertain by this point.

He didn't want to believe that his partner would do something like that. He _knew_ he wouldn't. But that didn't stop he new thoughts forming in his mind. He started to think about if that really was true.

What if he was being used?

But he didn't have much, so he wouldn't be used like that.

But there was still a possibility.

What if-

 _"Hey, stop with your idiotic talking. A Gate is opening near you two. Get ready."_

Misó let out a small sigh.

He lazily looked over at the opening Gate as if it was someone opening a regular door in a busy room.

The two watched as a few Marmods came through to the Gate while a Bander came out of another one.

Hisato pulled out the Kōgetsu at his hip while Misó lazily brought out a small green Scorpion blade. The blade looked more like a survival knife instead of some kind of blade to fight with.

Hisato ran forward with his Kōgetsu draw. He dodged the strike from one of the Marmods and slashed at its core. The Marmod closed its mouth, stopping the blade from connecting.

As soon as it reopened its mouth it feel to the ground as a small survival knife-sized blade pierced through its core from a distance.

Misó turned to the Bander who seemed to be charging up a laser beam. He brought up his hand just as a rather good sized cube of Trion appeared. The cube split up and continued to do so until the good sized cube of Trion was just a bunch of really small cubes.

He lazily moved his hand vertically in the air. The really small cubes of Trion sped forward just as the Bander seemed to finish up charging. Each time one of the really small cubes connected with the Trion soldier an explosion went off.

The Bander didn't stand a chance against the onslaught of explosive shots and even had one to off after connecting with its laser beam.

Misó looked over to see Hisato fighting against another Marmod and bought out two Scorpion blades. He casually threw the two blades over in the direction of Hisato and Marmod. The blades hit their target, but it looked like one of the blades had cut Hisato's shoulder while the other cut his side, making Trion leak out.

It didn't take long for Misó to go around (lazily) and stab each Marmod at their cores with his small, but tough blades.

The whole scene made it look like Hisato was really weak or that he wasn't actually trying. In reality he had been doing his best to fight against the Trion soldiers, but he had to keep an eye out since each time he reached one of them he would receive a new cut from Misó before the Trion soldiers fell to the ground.

"Hisa-tan, I know you're worried that Dai-tan could be cheating on you, but that doesn't mean you should slack off~ I suppose I shouldn't expect anything from _you_ though."

Misó grinned as he saw Hisato's grip on his blade tighten.

'So fun~ So fun~ Can't wait until we can "help" other squads out~'

* * *

Misó looked down at his sleeping captain.

'He's way too trusting, yet way to skeptical. He wants friends, yet doesn't let just anyone in. Oh how easy it would be to just wrap my hands around your throat~'

After their job had been done everyone could see that Misó's words had affected Hisato. He had been yelled at by Hitsugi, but didn't really care. Oshiro had gotten on his hands and knees while apologizing to all of Suwa Squad.

When he thought about it, Misó didn't really like seeing his captain apologizing to other squads in that manner. He liked it more when Oshiro was slamming his head on the ground.

His captain, Hogo Oshiro, was a topic that the whole squad could talk about for probably hours on end. He, Hitsugi and Kimura all loved their captain. Actually, that isn't true. They didn't love their captain.

 _They loved parts of him._

That's probably why all three of them lost to Inukai in their little "battle of love".

Hitsugi loved that Oshiro was a "hero", but Inukai loved every part of him.

Kimura loved that Oshiro was a "familiar person", but Inukai loved every part of him.

As for Misó...

'I'll never get tired of his lovely face that contorts in pain. Or even when he tries to hide that pain~'

Misó loved that Oshiro was a "person who took #1 on his list". For that reason he lost to Inukai Sumiharu, who loved every part of Hogo Oshiro.

The pain he felt from "losing" to Inukai was what made Misó love his captain even more.

Feeling himself get a bit riled up from seeing his sleeping captain's painful expression, Misó lifted his hands and placed one of them on Oshiro's mouth while the other one was put on his nose.

Both Kimura and Hitsugi weren't currently in the room since they had both been "called in" by the leader of their Ship Squad. That meant there was no one there to stop him from doing this.

He could see Oshiro start to wiggle around and watched as his captain's expressions turned worse due to the lack of air going into his body.

Misó pulled his hands away as Oshiro woke with a start.

Oshiro sat up quickly, his head leaving Misó's lap.

He took deep breaths for a few seconds. He turned to Misó and gave a small smile.

"Did you have a bad dream, Captain? It's very odd. You tend to have bad dreams whenever you're around me. It pains me soooooo much to know that you hate me like that~"

"That's not it," said Oshiro. "It's probably a coincidence. I'm sorry if you feel hurt by this. I'll try and control my dreams better next time."

Misó fixed his position on the sofa and placed both his feet on Oshiro's legs, stopping him from getting up.

"I forgot to tell you guys, but I met up with Toby and Take-tan before we went on duty. It's always fun to mess around with them. I did end up getting a hard kick from Fuji though. I told them to tell Kiyoshi I said hi though."

"... Why do you do that, Kirai-kun? I know you didn't just 'meet up' with them... What if you go too far at some point? I can't help you if you accidentally-"

"Don't worry~ There's no way I could kill anyone. I may enjoy pain, but I can't kill. After all... _If someone dies then I can't cause them pain anymore._ That's not to mention I wouldn't be able to always see the pain others have because of that person's death."

"..."

Oshiro already knew that there was something wrong with Misó. He knew it from the moment he met the boy, but that was why he decided to keep Misó on his squad. He saw it as helping other agents so that they didn't have to deal with Misó.

He had tried to help his teammate out before, but that never worked. Even Kimura, who loves picking at people's minds, couldn't do anything and gave up when it came to Misó.

"I'm kidding~ I'm kidding~ I wouldn't want anyone to die. I know it would hurt you too much for you to possibly bear. And while I _do_ love seeing others in pain, I wouldn't want to put _you_ through something like that. After all... _You still feel regret over not saving them, right_?"

Oshiro froze for a moment.

Misó got a small smirk when he saw his captain like this. The smirk only grew when he saw a very forced smile that wavered appear.

"R-right... Well, I'm glad you f-feel that way..."

* * *

He already had a plan to inflict the most amount of pain on the person who's always in pain.

He was him and no one else.

He had a list of people he admired for their effortless ability cause pain in some shape or form to others and a list of people he loved to hurt the most. Among that list was Hatohara Minoru, Miwa Shuuji and his very own captain, Hogo Oshiro. The pain he sees when Minoru and his depression are going overboard, the pain he sees when Miwa get mad when he hears about his dead sister, and the pain he sees when his captain is in some kind of pain. That pain was the best for him. To see his very own captain in such turmoil and pain was like a drug to him.

That was exactly why he always made sure to have new and updated information on others. He knew it would bring them pain knowing that nothing was a secret from him. He knew that he would have to deal with the pain of their hateful glares as he passed by them in the hall. He would hold that information over their heads like bait and just as they would take it he would pull it back and watch their frustrated, painful and sometimes crying faces as they tried to get that secret information only they knew back.

It didn't even have to be that mental pain pain. It could be the pain of a broken limb or a smashed foot. As long as pain was involved then he didn't care in the slightest and relished in it like a kid would if they were told they could have anything and everything in a candy store.

Whether it was giving pain from a simple flick to the neck or giving a brick to some unsuspecting person's head. He enjoyed pain.

Whether it was receiving the pain from a simple toe stumping or receiving a hammer to the stomach. He enjoyed pain.

 _He loved pain._

* * *

Misó Epanástasi

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Scorpion

Asteroid

Shield

Chameleon

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Scorpion

Meteora

Grasshopper

Shield


	4. Hitsugi Teikō

**Just wanted to say this chapter is crap and more introduction-filler than anything. Next chapter we will get to better things.**

* * *

 ** **Chapter 4:**** Hitsugi Teikō

* * *

A number of the Border members were gathered in the main lobby of Border. One of them was Kanzaki Sukuu, a woman with her long black hair tied in a ponytail.

She was trembling alone in the lobby with a leaflet in her hands that said, "The scabbard is a lovely and stylish outfit for your sword. Wouldn't you like to dress up your beloved sword even more beautifully?"

The pretty four-colored leaflet had a number of sample photos in small boxes and animals made from black cloth and finely cut vermillion maple and gold leaf much like would be seen on the outside of a multi-tiered bento box.

Kanzaki heard a gulping noise.

She did not realize that it was the sound of herself swallowing.

'...M-mhhh...! I-it's true I was thinking that the plain black scabbard wasn't enough. If I just got that Vermillion Maple or the Yellow Crane...N-no, no! The meaning behind my Kōgetsu and why I fight is represented in the way I dress myself and my weapons! If I just change the meaning of the scabbard so simply...b-but...the meaning of this Evening Cherry Tree might not be a problem...'

The always cool and collected Yamato Nadeshiko that was Kanzaki Sukuu continued to groan in indecision. As if to kick her while she was down, a different leaflet slipped from her hand and landed on one of the tables.

This one said, "Armor is the ultimate partner that protects your back. You should feel the breath of this wonderful partner that will stay with you no matter what predicament you are in."

"M-mhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Kanzaki glared at the pictures on the advertisement that looked like the dolls from the Boys' May Festival.

'I suppose an entire set of armor is a bit much...but with just an arm or a leg or even a breastplate I could wear it under my uniform and...no, no!'

Kanzaki continued like this until she suddenly returned to her senses.

She looked up, cleared her throat, and slowly put the leaflets aside. It was no time to have her heart stolen by those leaflets that had been left there almost as a trap.

Kanzaki had left the table she was at to get something to eat and came back with large portions of food that would make any chubby person's mouth water.

The Shooter Teikō Hitsugi who was always sneaking food had commented "Wah! Are you that much of a glutton?", so Kanzaki had been feeling a little down, but now she could admit that Hitsugi was exactly right.

Kanzaki didn't seem to care much as she seemed to be mixing different foods from putting rice in a hamburger to adding salsa to a hotdog. Even the chips didn't seem safe as they were dumped into a bowl of soup that looked like a mix of ramen broth with takoyaki.

She slowly put down the small bag of chips and brought her hands together in front of her face in a small clap making sure not to make any noise.

"Hee hee. Hee hee hee. My lovely, lovely creations~"

Kanzaki continued her excited silent clapping half feeling that someone should point out that she had a weird sense of taste, but it didn't really matter. She simply preferred these kinds of things. Someone might complain that she wasn't doing it right, but it wasn't going to stop her.

She took some chopsticks from the end of the table and split them up. She was smiling widely and couldn't keep her butt from swaying rhythmically while wrapped in her indigo-dyed yukata.

Why she was in such a thing at Border was a simple answer: It was something she loved to wear both inside and outside her home.

"Now then. Time to eat."

"Hey, who's eating something that smells delicious this late at night!?"

"It smells so good! It's making me so hungry I can't sleep!"

"Why are you trying to sleep over here to begin with!?"

Kanzaki started panicking once she heard a couple of female voices suddenly come from a short distance. She heard hurried footsteps getting closer and closer.

She only had enough for her, so there was no way she could comply with the request that was sure to come now that those girls had smelled it.

That left only one path.

'At this rate, they'll start fighting over it...!?'

Kanzaki built up her resolve, grabbed the bowl that still had steam rising from it, put her lips to the edge, and stared quickly moving the chopsticks. Her eyes filled with tears, but it was hardly the time to worry about that. That was the only way to stop a pointless fight from occurring. It wasn't that she was afraid of having someone else take the large amount of food from her.

Kanzaki threw the empty bowl to the side before heading to the next challenge of food. In the end she had been able to finish all the food that was there.

It all only took about 45 seconds.

Just as she straightened up after putting the empty trays to a different area, the starving girls noisily entered the area.

As expected, the first one in was the Shooter with a pseudo-crush on her captain, Teikō Hitsugi. She was sniffing around with her nose.

"K-Kanzaki-san! Did you see some mysterious person with food that smelled amazingly good wandering around here!?"

"N-no. I didn't see a mysterious old man delivering food or anything."

"...Odd. I could have sworn the smell was coming from around here..."

Hitsugi wandered around the area sniffing like a war dog that had lost its prey. Kanzaki slowly turned her gaze away from Hitsugi and the other girls behind her and looked at the napkin holder at the end of the table. She noticed a grain of rice on her mouth and hurriedly pushed it into her mouth with a finger.

As all this was going on, the girl with cat's eyes, Kimura, entered the area having noticed all the noise. She began speaking to Hitsugi.

"Hey. ...What is going on here?"

"This is the time of art! And so I thought I'd try my own hand at art."

Kanzaki looked over at them questioningly and saw a choco cornet in Hitsugi's hand. The bread had three silver-colored forks stuck into either side. The look in Kimura's eyes eloquently expressed her anger over the wasted food and that she was going to probably hit Hitsugi.

Hitsugi spoke while holding the dessert bread with its wing-like forks.

"This is an expression of the anger swirling around inside me."

"I see..."

"The anger in my heart wants to leap from my chest, but energy is needed for it to do so. The exchange of energy means that anger directed towards others comes back to you. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that getting too angry makes you even hungrier!"

"..."

"Okay, now that Master Artist Hitsugi's audio commentary is over, I'll be hitting you 100 times," said Kimura with a heavy sigh.

That was when Kagami Rin, a B-Rank Operator with light skin and black hair that was tied up in two loops, entered the area.

Kagami was the Operator of Arafune Squad and someone who loved art, when she entered the area, she completely ignored the issue of Kanzaki and the large amount of food and looked over at the dessert bread with forks that Hitsugi was holding in both hands as she was being hit.

"Art...!?"

"D-don't make strange jokes that are so difficult to understand! Look, now that you've said that, she is yelling out as if she has had her eyes opened to some mysterious truth!"

The real reason Hitsugi was yelling and opening her eyes wide was because Kimura had added 80% more force to her hits as she snapped at Kagami, but Kimura didn't seem to realize that.

Meanwhile, Kagami must have had great respect for the mysterious dessert bread with forks that frankly expressed human emotion because she started putting on thin gloves as if she were about to handle an antique.

"Hey! Agents number one and number two!"

"Don't refer to us like we're levers on the toilet!"

"Don't refer to us like we're levers on the toilet!"

"...C-can I touch that dessert bread? No! I understand! I'm well aware I'm making an inelegant request! But three dimensional objects always make me want to look at them from every angle!"

It seemed the sculptor was suffering, but Kimura said she could have it as long as she would actually eat it. However, as soon as Kagami took it she started speaking as if she was moaning.

"The direction of the forks...this wing shape... I see. This says that the anger over an empty stomach empties the stomach further...!"

All of the girls left the area muttering that they just didn't understand artists. Kanzaki left along with them and sighed as she walked along the hallway in her yukata. Then she tilted her head to the side in puzzlement.

"Huh? Why did we end up on the topic of art?"

* * *

"Why did you have to hit me like that, Kawa-chan?"

It was the next morning after the "food/art" fiasco and Hitsugi was pouting while sitting on one of the sofas while the other was taken up by Misó laying on it. Oshiro took up refuge on the chair.

"Because you aren't too bright. Kagami-san didn't help much either. I even got a message from Hanzaki-kun asking why Kagami-san had that 'art' you made a few minutes ago."

"It _is_ 'art'! She's the only one who seeing that!"

"No. It was a waste of food. While I _can_ give credit to the beauty of its asymmetry, it was still a waste of food. It did help me to understand how you and Kagami-san work though. I thank you for that."

"See! So there was no reason to hit me!"

"Yes. There was."

Misó watched this go down with a bored looked. He glanced up to see why Oshiro hadn't tried to stop them yet and saw that he was looking down at the papers on the table.

Oshiro had been working on those papers for quite some time now without saying anything. No one had bothered to talk to him since they knew he was helping out Arashiyama Squad by doing this.

"I'm gonna get going now." Hitsugi stood up and dusted herself off. "I'm gonna go meet up with Kako-san. She said she's gonna help me out with my shooting. You don't mind do you, Captain?"

"Hm? Ah. No. Tell her I said hi," Oshiro said without looking up from the papers.

"Right, right. I'll see you guys later."

With a wave, Hitsugi left the room and entered the hallway.

She started to make her way over to the area she and Kako had decided would be the meet up spot.

This wasn't the first time the two would be training together. Sometimes they would ask Nasu from Nasu Squad or Eri from Tsukiko Squad if they wanted to join in. They had done so this time and got good answers from both girls.

Each had their own styles of shooting, but all for had something similar to another. Nasu's shots were more angular and strategic-looking, Eri's weren't so different. So the two would train with each other. Kako's style was a free-formed style that didn't really take shape until fired, while Hitsugi's was a sort of chaotic one that didn't seem to stay in one place.

They had their male counterparts in the forms of Ninomiya Masataka, Izumi Kouhei and Kotowari Takeshi, but those three were never invited to this "All Girls Shooting Practice".

"So if I 'fuse' Meteora quicker with Viper than I could probably manger to create Hornet faster... But maybe I could 'overlay' Viper and Asteroid to trick my opponents..."

"Still going on with that way of talking?"

Hitsugi turned around quickly to see Kako Nozomi walking up to her with her arms crossed.

"Oh, Kako-san. Huh? I'm already here? I thought it was further than that..."

"Well, with the way you mutter to yourself, it's not like distance matters to you. You hardly pay much attention to the things around you when you get like that."

"That's not true! I'm just trying to figure out how to make the composite bullets quicker!"

"Don't you think you should be more focused on keeping them stable than speeding up their creation process? You keep your distance shorter if they go off earlier than they should."

Hitsugi crossed her arms, a pout could be seen on her face, but that's didn't seem to matter to the grinning Kako.

Hitsugi quickly put her hand in her pocket and took out a small notepad. She quickly flipped through a few pages before putting the small notepad to Kako's face. All the older woman saw were scribbles that looked like a child had been told to draw a famous painting and went off to do their own thing.

"I _do_ focus on how! I take notes and everything! I even have them written down so I could help others out!"

"Yeah. That's nice of you, but... Only you can understand those scribbles."

"Their not scribbles! It's shorthand! I'm making things easier to understand!"

"I'm pretty sure someone would have an easier time figuring out a grade schooler's kanji than they would trying to read your...'shorthand'. And besides, that weird 'rule' you put in where you can only use one 'shorthand' before you have to write a new one is a bit odd. Not to mention you end up switching the way you write them."

Before the two could continue any longer, Eri and Nasu walked up to them. All four have their greetings.

The four girls started to make their way over to Nasu Squad's room, since that's where they all agreed they would train this time, and started talking about different things. Eri and Nasu talked about how to improve the former's concentration for her Viper while Kako and Hitsugi talked about how to make "the perfect meal" using only fried rice and takoyaki.

As they walked through the hall they saw the strange sight of Midorikawa rushing by using Grasshopper while Toby teleported away down the hall. They all raised their eyebrows, but continued on.

They could hear fast-paced footsteps getting closer and closer to them. They all looked down the hall to see Oshiro rushing at them with incredible speed. All four of them moved to the side just as Oshiro got near.

"..."

They all watched as Oshiro fell to the ground after getting a hit to the side of the head. They looked in the direction the shot had come from and saw some kind of slingshot trap there, aimed at them. More specifically it was aimed at Hitsugi.

Hitsugi bent down to check on her captain and saw that he had red all over the side of his face. She started to freak out, but was calmed down when he started to get up.

"Red paint... Those two really wanted it to look like a crime."

"Captain!"

"H-huh!? Oh! You're are all fine? That's great."

Oshiro let out a small breath as he stood up.

"What was that about?" Kako asked, looking at the partly red captain.

"Oh. I saw those two setting something up when I went to get a snack and so I followed them for a bit. When I saw them set up that slingshot I rushed over to warn you. Looks like I ended up taking the hit though. Haha."

"Gah! I'm so sorry, Captain! I should have been more alert! That was my bad!"

"It's fine. It's just a little paint. Besides, I needed that wake-up hit. Now I can finish the paperwork without problems. Although... I should probably wash off this paint first..."

"Well, well," said Kako. "Looks like you've 'saved' Teikō-chan _again_."

For her part, Hitsugi looked down and away from Oshiro.

"Hitsugi-chan?"

"Ah! It's nothing! I was just thinking about how great a hero you are!"

Oshiro's smile faltered a bit, but he didn't say anything.

"Welp! We're gonna go do some shooting practice now! If you need me, I'll be in Nasu Squad's room!"

"Right. Have fun."

* * *

It was midnight now, the time when the date changes.

The apartment complex she and her brother lived in was located near the Forbidden Zone of Mikado City. The people who were living here weren't penniless people, but people who did not want to involve ordinary citizens because of something unexpected. If the surrounding people were all experts, even if there was a battle, they could reduce the damage to the minimum.

Not only that but the whole building had more of a feel and look of a dormitory than an apartment building, so some students wondered what school had owned the building at times.

"I see. So they got beat by Misaki-chan."

The one who was saying this in the middle of an apartment room was Hitsugi. She was in a simple tank-top and pajama bottoms. This didn't seem right on her with her usual pseudo-flashy appearance.

She was not talking to someone, but a phone.

It was an old-fashioned rotary dial phone. The red ornament had a gold lacing on it, a rather nice looking antique. On a side note, she was talking to her teammate, Misó.

"So, if you want to know the report, you can go ask the squad. As for me, I'm in more danger when I search for this information, you know? You don't know about that."

"I...I'm not really fit to talk to them right now. It feels arrogant if I'm to act familiar enough to talk to them."

Hitsugi used her thumb to play with the phone line.

After that, she said, "Don't you think it's best to stop with these 'information searches' by now? You've made enough enemies to the point where I wouldn't be shocked if the army came after your ass."

Hitsugi's bare feet knocked on the floor as she spoke.

"Hmh, regarding that, I can't say it because of a lot of reassooonnnss-"

"Wha...what?"

Misó purposely dragged his voice, making Hitsugi even more wary.

Her prediction was correct.

"...Nee...-chin, you gave Shiro-kyun quite a lot of problems this time. That paint wasn't something he could just wash off, apparently."

"Eh!?"

However, the impact far exceeded Hitsugi's limits.

"What should you do? Nee-chin, this isn't something that can be solved by just wearing a maid costume and serving him for an entire day. Ah, if so, how about that? I'll lend my female angel costume with an angelic halo and white wings to you! This is truly a maid costume; use that to decide the winner, Nee-chin! WOO...OOOHOHO! What angel? If this cute fallen angel appears, I don't know how Shiro-kyun will react!"

"FOR...FOR HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO TALK ABOUT IT!?... BESIDES, WHY DO YOU HAVE SUCH A THING!?"

"Ah, that's not it. Actually, I bought that for Kawa-tan. That girl actually said 'maids can't cosplay', like if she _was_ a maid, and even punched me in the cheekbone...no, for a girl's actions, isn't that like a real military-trained punch?"

"You can't really blame her for that..."

Being weak all over, Hitsugi suddenly realized something.

This wasn't the main point.

"Wait a second. Did you set this all up? You somehow bribed Midorikawa and Toby, didn't you? What has that got to do with me!?"

"Eh? Then Nee-chin, don't you have any thanks for Shiro-kyun!?"

"Uuuu!?"

"Ah-ah- Hogo managed to save you from the dangerous paint that doesn't seem to be coming off any time soon, and not only did you not thank him, you even declared that you have nothing to do with it. You've really fallen, Teikō Hitsugi. Shiro-kyun will be disappointed if he hears this. But that guy's really gentle, so maybe he won't be angry."

"Where...where have I...your words make sense, but what am I supposed to do!? Don't I owe him even more favors now!?"

"That's why you should honestly act as a fallen angel! If you're one of the no-more-than-twenty sexy beauties, then realize it, Nee-chin!...Eh? Nee-chin, are you listening? Wait, I'm not done-!"

The speaker got slammed hard.

Hitsugi stared blankly at the phone for a while, her face all green.

"...Fall...fallen angel maid costume...?"

Hitsugi stared at her trembling hands, and then stared at the cuboid fish tank that had a tropical fish and was beside the phone. The Shooter looked completely puzzled.

She brought her face near the fish tank, and in response, the fish moved near with a "What now, are you giving me food to eat?" look. She used both hands to grab a small painted plate that was besides the fish tank, and placed it on her head.

"A...a halo, does it look like this? But...but a fallen angel...how does it move or talk...it's like the Devil. In this situation, it should be female. If the other person's a male, maybe I have to act like some little Devil-"

If these words were heard by the oldest sibling with red hair from a family of soldiers, she would definitely be attacked on the spot. But since Hitsugi was in the midst of this mess, she didn't notice this at all.

This one Border agent instantly turned silent before tilting her head.

"Just...just like this - Shiro."

The doorbell suddenly rang.

"...?"

A surprised Hitsugi frantically pulled the painted plate from above her head. The little tropical fish saw her like this and immediately escaped into the deepest part of the tank at high speed. Hitsugi quickly looked around, and after confirming that no one was around, she placed a hand on her chest and heaved a sigh of relief. After that, she looked at the door.

Besides the various rooms in the apartment building, there was an electric bell at the entrance for visitors to use. What did this ring mean? Maybe there was a delivery service here.

Hitsugi grabbed her Trigger and passed through the long corridor before arriving at the entrance.

Though there was security here, she was often asleep. Hitsugi walked toward the door, and inside that security room, the woman was still sleeping. Looking at how the television was still on, it seemed that she had watched till she fell asleep. The television was meant to prevent people from sleeping, but without a favorite show, it would have the opposite effect.

Hitsugi couldn't do anything else but open the door.

The one standing at the entrance was Teikō Indō, her sister-in-law.

"We...we're back."

"Ah, welcome back, Onee-chan."

Hitsugi looked surprised as she welcomed her neighbor and family in the dormitory-like apartment building.

The people living here normally didn't need to press the doorbell, but Indō was holding many things with both hands, so she couldn't use her key to open the door. Besides, she was holding two travelling bags, and there was even a hiking backpack, and there were sports bags that were strapped around like a kimono. This huge amount of heavy equipment made her look like she was going hiking.

"Onee-chan, wasn't your luggage sent here beforehand?"

"Eh hehe. I got some new luggage halfway though."

"?"

In front of a surprised Hitsugi, Indō smiled as she stepped aside as if she was letting people pass.

"Eh?" Hitsugi's eyebrows twitched.

The petite girl grabbed Indō's clothes as she stood, looking like she was hiding behind Indō.

She was just a little girl who looked no older than 5.

"There'll be a lot more people coming over. This place will be a lot noisier."

In front of Hitsugi, who hadn't understood what was going on, a group of people who appeared to be from a local orphanage stood, waiting to be let in.

* * *

Hitsugi Teikō

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Asteroid

Meteora

Chameleon

Shield

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Viper

Hound

Bagworm

Shield


	5. Oshiro Hogo: Part 2

**Chapter 5:** Oshiro Hogo: Part 2

* * *

Glasses.

They are devices consisting of lenses mounted in a frame that holds them in front of a person's eyes. They could be used to correct eyesight, protect the eyes from things like debris, or they could be used to try and look cool.

To Oshiro, who usually only wore a red contact lens to help his left eye, glasses were a nuisance. His right eye had normal vision, but his left eye had poor vision. That meant that if he wore sight-correcting glasses he would have to deal with one eye seeing things fine while the other had and unnecessary enhancement that made his head hurt after a while.

At some point he had started using contacts lens instead of glasses, although he had to buy two different kinds in the same color. During some time he had forgotten to put the regular, non-enhancing contact lens in, making him seem like he had heterochromatic eyes.

The day he went out with one red eye and one blue eye was the day he had met a blond male with a smile resembling an innocent child's.

That blond male with a smile resembling an innocent child's had taken a look at him and the first thing he said was "Whoa! You're eyes are so awesome~!" After that Oshiro had told the blond male with a smile resembling an innocent child's that he was wearing contact lens, but forgot one of them. The response he got was something like "Oh! Then you should always just wear one!"

From that day to now, Oshiro stashed his glasses away and never covered his right eye. He maintained the appearance of a heterochromatic-eyed B-Rank captain that had black hair with the tips being white (dyed).

* * *

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmm~~~~~~! Gah! These things are so annoying!"

"They look so cute on you though! I've never seen you wearing those before! Besides, if they make you pout like this then I have no problems with it!"

"Haru-san! I can't focus on these papers with them on! And it doesn't help that you're laying your whole body weight on top of me like this! And please stop taking pictures!"

"But I'm leaving to America soon~ Let me have this much~ Besides! These pictures will help me get through those lonely times without you~"

Oshiro let out a rare sigh of annoyance as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

The day before had been a bit tiring for Oshiro. Misó seemed determined to annoy everyone he saw while Hitsugi was muttering things about some "fallen angel costume". Kimura didn't seem to care about either and was busy reading a book on the mind and the points on the head.

When he had gotten to his bed that night he didn't notice half the things around him or what he was doing and just flopped onto his bed. The next morning - the morning of the current day - he had woken up and went to wash his face. When he took the first step out of his bed he felt something crunch under his foot and looked down to see a little box. That box held the red contacts he would usually put on.

The look on his face as he realized what happened was one that would make Misó pull out his phone and take pictures from every possible angle.

He had seen the time and quickly got ready. He thought about just covering his left eye, but that was out of the question when he thought about how bad his dept perception would be. He slowly turned to his closest with careful eyes before letting out a sigh and walking towards the small shelf that was there.

Now here he was, sitting in a booth with large, oval-framed glasses that seemed more like goggles than glasses with his boyfriend leaning on his using his full body weight.

He had thought about asking if Ninomiya or Minoru could take Inukai away, but he figured that since all of Ninomiya Squad would be departing for America later for a mission he would allow this for the time being.

He never knew how much work Arashiyama Squad had to do until now. He had multiple papers spread out on the table. Some of them were for the upcoming enlistment day while others looked like general paperwork. He really didn't need to help, and was even told by Arashiyama that they had it covered, but he didn't feel right leaving all that work to the #5 A-Rank squad.

"Come ooooooooon~~~ Put the papers away for a bit."

"Sorry, Haru-san, but I need to finish these."

"..."

Inukai sat up straight and gave a small pout.

"At least have something to eat. You've been focused on those papers for so long I'm worrying about your health."

"... Okay... Let me just finish this up..."

Inukai let out a small sigh when he saw that Oshiro didn't have any intention of getting up.

Deciding he would do something about it, Inukai got up and walked away. This wasn't even noticed by Oshiro who was muttering to himself.

Inukai was right to worry about Oshiro. The B-Rank captain was starting to get dark spots under his eyes and his stomach could be heard growling at times. Not wanting to see his boyfriend in such a state, Inukai tried to help in any way he could.

"Do I even want to ask about the red hair?"

Oshiro jumped at hearing the new voice. He slowly turned his head to see Narasaka standing there with critical eyes on him.

Oshiro had been avoiding the squads from "the night of the attack" like the plague. That of course meant Miwa Squad was one of them. It was difficult in its own right since he went to school with two of their members and Yoneya went to his squad's room when he was bored.

"Hello...Narasaka-san."

"Don't give me that. Kimura already told me that you ended up in the hospital because of some wall kicking again. You're the only one who's acting like this, so stop. None of us hate you."

"..."

Oshiro turned back to the papers without saying anything.

Narasaka raised an eyebrow at this. Usually Oshiro would start apologizing before everything went back to normal. That wasn't the case this time, making him a bit worried.

"Hogo-"

"I know. Thank you."

"..."

"Ah! Narasaka! Sorry about Shiro-chan. He's lacking in sleep so he's a bit testy right now."

Narasaka nodded his head before walking off. He figured he would just wait for Oshiro to get better.

He knew that Oshiro could get like this whenever he was lacking in sleep. Even if he missed out on a few minutes of sleep he wouldn't really seem like the kind and helpful person he usually was. What made it worse was that he was a light sleeper.

Inukai tilted his head. He gave a shrug and took his seat next to Oshiro once again. This time he had a tray of food with him though.

"Alright. Open up~ Say 'ah'~"

"Haru-san, please stop."

Inukai was really starting to worry now. He could tell how much sleep Oshiro had been missing out on by his mood, his current mood said that he hadn't gotten much sleep at all. This had happened a few times before when the B-Rank captain was determined to help someone out.

Thinking of what to do to get the younger one to eat, a certain idea popped into his head. A grin quickly made its way onto the blond's face as he took some of the food into his own mouth.

He tapped Oshiro on the shoulder.

"What _now_ , Ha-hmpgl!?"

Inukai grabbed Oshiro's face and quickly put their lips together. It didn't take much effort for him to open Oshiro's mouth. Once he did open his mouth though, he pushed the food that was in his mouth into the other's.

Oshiro was in a bit of shock from the sudden food (and tongue) that entered his mouth that he didn't know what to do. Once he noticed that Inukai wouldn't be moving his face his own face he went red as he swallowed the food forced into his mouth.

"..."

"See? No need to make things difficult."

"H-H-H-Ha-Haru-uuuuuuuuuuu-saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan...#%^*!"

"Hahahahahaha! What kind of reaction is that!? Hahahahahaha!"

* * *

 _"Shiro!"_

 _The small boy with black hair and blue eyes turned his head. He could see one of his older brothers running to him in a panic._

 _Feeling a little bit of happiness at seeing his brother the small boy with black hair and blue eyes got a watery smile as he stood up on shaky legs._

 _He was going to run. He would meet up with his brother and they would move the pieces of the destroyed house to make sure no one had died in the destruction. It would all work out. They wouldn't have a house, but they would still be alive._

 _He started to run to his brother._

 _He couldn't hear what his brother was yelling, he was too happy to even see his brother._

 _The he saw it._

 _One of the large white creatures that was attacking the city._

 _He paled instantly._

 _He tried to yell out to his brother but nothing came out. He wanted to warn his brother of the large dinosaur-sized creature behind, but absolutely nothing came out of his mouth. No cries, no voice, no sound at all._

 _"Shi-"_

 _"...!"_

 _His yell was drowned out by the roar of the white creature._

 _He himself didn't think he would hear his own screem even if the creature didn't roar._

 _He fell back. His own legs couldn't withstand his own weight anymore and simply gave out._

 _"!?"_

 _He heard a loud crash and slowly turned his head to see his (former) home get smashed even more by another one of those white dinosaur-sized creatures. That's when he saw them. Without the larger pieces of rubble in the way he could see them._

 _His mother was laying on the ground, unmoving. His second older brother's arm could be seen coming from under another piece of large rubble. But the worst one was his father. His father's upper-half was visibly lying on the ground while it appeared that his lower-half was currently being crushed by the dinosaur-sized creature._

 _He couldn't hold it in anymore._

 _He vomited._

 _His day was going so well. He had a great breakfast made by his mother. Now that breakfast and any snack he had eaten were all over the ground._

 _He thought he was going to die. He thought this would be how his life would end. He thought that..._

 _"...!"_

* * *

Tears streamed down his face as he woke up.

He didn't move from his spot and simply moved his eyes around to see the familiar squad room. No one else was there, so he didn't bother wiping away the tears.

"..."

Lifting his arm, Oshiro reached over to the small table near him and picked up his glasses.

To Oshiro, who usually only wore a red contact lens to help his left eye, glasses were a nuisance. His right eye had normal vision, but his left eye had poor vision. That meant that if he wore sight-correcting glasses he would have to deal with one eye seeing things fine while the other had and unnecessary enhancement that made his head hurt after a while.

He stared at the large, oval-framed glasses that seemed more like goggles than glasses.

He remembered when he first got them. His two older brothers had picked them out for him stating that "They really fit you" and "You look so cool with them on." Even after hearing those words from his brothers he didn't like them. He thought they looked odd and even felt more odd when he put them on.

Those weren't his thought anymore though. He treasured those large, oval-framed glasses that seemed more like goggles than glasses as if they were his actual life. Even if he didn't wear them he would always make sure they were clean and well kept.

"... What time is it?"

* * *

"Hm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..."

"Hogo-senpai, can I see you in your work uniform?"

"But I'm not-"

"Hogo-kun, would you mind helping me out?"

"Sur-"

"Ah! Hogo! Keep here for a sec! We need your help!"

"O-ok-"

"Kya! Hogo-senpai, can I take a picture of you!?"

"..."

If this was some kind of manga Oshiro's eyes were have turned into swirls by now as he was bombarded by multiple C-Ranks. Both guys and girls had crowded around him, all saying they wanted his help. Some of them probably did was his help, but others just wanted to be around him since "His glasses make him look soooooooo cute~!"

Oshiro nervously fixed his glasses as pink started cover his whole face. He wasn't use to this many people crowding around him, it was making him a bit self conscious.

"Hey now. You're scaring the poor guy. Everyone, please back away."

Everyone looked over to see Arashiayama walking up to the crowd of people that surrounded Oshiro.

"J... Juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnn-saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnn!"

Oshiro quickly ran forward and leaped towards Arashiyama with tears on his eyes.

Arashiyama let out a laugh as he caught the boy. He felt the other's arms wrap around his torso and patted the boy's head.

The girls around looked on with blushes and stars in their eyes. The guys either left at this or saw it as something akin to a puppy running to its master.

"SHIROOOOOOOOOO-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"

Arashiyama let out a huff as more weight was added on in the form of Inukai grabbing Oshiro's waist and dragging them both down.

He quickly fell to the ground due to all the weight. He could see his squad come by and shoo the crowd away before taking their own leave. He gave them his thanks and turned to the two who made a sort of chain using each other's waists.

"Alright, alright. I think we should get up now."

"R-right. I'm sorry about that. It's just that those C-Ranks can be relentless at times... Ah! I don't mean to speak badly about them! I'm sorry!"

"No need to apologize... I suppose even you would have a hard time dealing with all of that though."

"Yeah. Thank you for that."

As he was getting up, Oshiro could see a small dog run by and looked from Inukai to the dog back to Inukai.

He easily recognized the dog as Minoru's.

"Um... Haru-san... Are you suppose to be watching Taka right now?"

Inukai jumped in his spot before moving his head around, presumably to look for said dog.

He gave a quick kiss to Oshiro before running off in search for the rouge dog.

Arashiyama gave another small laugh while Oshiro just shook his head with a smile.

The two started to make their way to anywhere. Neither had any particular place they needed to be at the moment, so they just decided to walk around aimlessly.

"You know you don't have to help us out. Actually, you really won't be getting anything out of helping us out. Sorry about that."

"Oh! No! It's fine, it's fine! If I can make your work load even a hit lighter then I'll be satisfied. I knew your squad had a lot of work as the face of Border, but I really didn't think you had it _that_ bad. That paperwork was swallowing me whole."

"Make sure to take care of yourself. I can see the dark spots around you eyes. I really don't want you to go overboard here for something you really don't need to concern yourself over."

"You're being a worrywart, Jun-san. Besides, if I can't save anyone then the least I can do is help out with simple paperwork. Well, I suppose that if I can't save anyone then I'm still put in the 'useless' category."

"Don't say that. It doesn't matter if you can save someone or not. You are nowhere near useless. You always put everyone before yourself and never expect anything in return. Someone like that could never be called 'useless'."

Hogo Oshiro wasn't a bad person, he really wasn't. He may have looked like it with his usually heterochromatic red (contact) and blue eyes and black hair with white tips (dyed), but he really wasn't.

If you were to ask other people who knew him you would be told he's the type of person to help old people cross the street or jump into a raging river just to save a bunny. There have even been rumors that he once stopped a suicidal terrorist ready to blow up a bank.

He really wasn't a bad person.

He didn't think so though. He only thought that he was nothing more than a small presence that could only do the smallest of things.

"Regardless of what you feel, you _do_ save others by protecting them from Neighbors. You have the trust of a good amount of agents here in Border and even more in Mikado City as a whole. There's no way you could be considered 'useless'."

Oshiro looked down while he unconsciously twirled his white tips in his fingers.

"Oh~ There ya are, Captain~ I've been looking for you this whoooooole daaaaay~~!"

Arashiyama and Oshiro were surpsied when something came up from behind and kicked Oshiro from behind.

The two looked back to see Misó grinning down at the at the pushed Oshiro.

Arashiyama frowned as he helped Oshiro back to his feet.

"Oh. Kirai-kun. What can I do for you!"

"Those things." Misó pointed to Oshiro's head. "Why'd you die your tips white? Looks cool and all, but that's actually something I don't know."

As he spoke, Misó walked forward and grabbed Oshiro's face rather roughly.

" _I don't like not having all the information._ "

"Hey now. Calm down."

Arashiyama got between the two while sending a small glare to Misó.

'This guy... Almost everyone hates him, yet he never seemed affected by it. He always says he's fine with how everyone treats him. The only people I've seen him actually mad at are Shiro and Jin... Don't tell me...'

"Jun-ta-"

"The future."

Oshiro tilted his head.

Misó's grin lowered and his eyes narrowed.

"You seem to have all past and current information, but you can't even know what new information is in the future. That's why you hate Jin so much. You make it out to be that you hate people who don't 'feel pain', but in reality you hate not having information."

"..."

"That's the only way to get you mad. _Make sure you don't have information._ "

"..."

"!"

"Shiro!"

Arashiyama bent down to check on his friend.

Misó looked down at the two. He didn't have his usual smug grin in place. He was looking at them with such cold eyes that it seemed like he could freeze fire with his stare alone.

Oshiro, being in his real body, rubbed his cheek that had taken the hit instead of Arashiyama. He gave a small smile of reassurance towards Arashiyama.

He looked around the area for his glasses and found them near Misó's feet. He looked up at the male, worried about what might happen next.

"..."

To his surprise, Misó lightly kicked the glasses towards Oshiro while stilling giving a slight glare towards Arashiyama.

"Jun, you aren't someone who should be talking to our squad like that when you are also some who 'lost' to that dog for the same reason as us three. No. Rather, _you sent him to that dog in the first place._ Our captain may like everyone around him, but that's because he's naïve and doesn't want to see the bad things around him. And while I do love seeing the pain in your eyes knowing that you've lost, I'd rather you stay away from him. Professional things like enlistment day aside, teasing our captain with conversations like those you were having are things you've lost the privilege to have."

"Hold on a second!"

Oshiro quickly stood up and put both his arms out in front of the two.

"Why don't...we just go our separate ways for now? I'm sure the three of us having something else to do. J-Jun-san and I have to get back to paperwork and... Kirai-kun, Kawa-chan wanted to see you for something. We don't want to waste times do we? Let's all get going."

"Yeah... You're right... I'll see you around, Shiro..."

Arashiyama didn't feel comfortable in the slightest leaving Oshiro to Misó, but he knew what Oshiro was doing and wanted to respect it.

So he took his leave.

"Kirai-kun... Let's go."

"Sure thing, _Captain_."

The two started to walk away. The usual feeling they had around each other started to gradually come back with each step. It was back to "normal" for the two, but neither one said anything.

Misó thought about multiple things as he walked. None of which had anything to do with what just happened, but it seemed important enough to the point of him keeping his mouth shut while walking.

Oshiro on the other hand placed a hand on his glasses while he also thought.

'I know it's petty and stupid of me to have a meaning for everything, but... I can't help it... Those red contacts remind me of the first time Haru-san spoke to me _and_ complimented me... These glasses... These ugly, unstylish and odd glasses... They're the only way for me to feel like my brothers are still with me... Why I dyed my hair white though... That's the only secret I'm going to be selfish about... I wouldn't want to burden anyone anyways.'

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Oshiro turned around to see a C-Rank girl looking up at him with a bit of a blush.

"Um... I'm sorry, but... Can you please help me!?"

Hogo Oshiro wasn't a bad person, he really wasn't. He may have looked like it with his blue eyes behind large, oval-framed glasses that seemed more like goggles than glasses and black hair with white tips (dyed), but he really wasn't.

If you were to ask other people who knew him you would be told he's the type of person to help old people cross the street or jump into a raging river just to save a bunny. There have even been rumors that he once stopped a suicidal terrorist ready to blow up a bank.

He really wasn't a bad person.

He thought of himself as someone who could only manage to do the bear minimum of everything and wasn't worth other peoples' concern.

So he smiled.

He smiled as he spoke to the C-Rank girl with a blush on her face.

"I'd be happy to help."

He would continue to do the bear minimum with everything he had.

* * *

 **I don't hate or like this chapter. I both hate and love writing Oshiro-centric chapters.**


	6. Sukuu Kanzaki

**Chapter 6:** Sukuu Kanzaki

* * *

Morning came to Mikado City.

With soft sunbeams and the chirping of the birds coming in the window, Kanzaki Sukuu stood dumbfounded in the changing room of a women's dorm.

In front of her was a state-of-the-art fully automated washing machine.

"I told you... Just because the box said it could wash an entire futon doesn't mean it's true."

Because it had been getting colder lately, Kanzaki was wearing a jacket that came down to her navel in addition to her usual T-shirt and jeans.

"The way this washing machine works is always giving us trouble..."

There was a sound of an object falling to the ground. It came from the oddly placed sword near them sliding down from where it was leaning against the wall. However, Kanzaki didn't even notice.

January 4th was her day to do the wash, but this had all been caused by Kimura Kawaguchi saying she might as well stick the futon in there too, wrapping the thick futon up tightly, and throwing it in the washing machine.

The fully AI-run appliance seemed like it was about to start spewing black smoke because it was emitting a worrying low rumbling moan as it rattled back and forth.

"..."

Speaking of Kimura, she looked like she was half-in-tears and had her back pressed to the changing room wall as she tried to keep as far from the washing machine as she could. She looked like someone who had been driven into a corner and she was trembling enough to give the washing machine a run for its money. Because Kimura's shaking looked like it could whip cream, Kanzaki wasn't sure if she should berate her or not.

That was when the dorm manager came in.

The woman's smiling face was all that could be seen because she was covered from head to toe by some strange outfit.

"It's time for breakfast."

"It's too soon! Can't you give a little thought to the flow of things so far!?"

"Oh. But I would think that having breakfast at the same time as usual would be the natural flow of things. In fact, isn't the washing machine the only irregular aspect?"

Kanzaki fell silent.

When she thought about it, the manager was right.

While her attention was pointed elsewhere, Kimura sang out "B-b-b-breakfast. Breakfast." and ran out of the changing room.

Kanzaki sighed, scratched her black-ponytailed head, and headed for the dining hall. The manager must have been tired, because her body swayed left and right as she smiled and walked down the hallway.

"Oh, right. Kanzaki-san."

"What is it?"

"What was that package that came addressed to you the other day? I'm pretty sure it was from Epanástasi-san"

Kanzaki's shoulders jumped in surprise.

She messed with her bangs using her thumb and forefinger as she spoke.

"O-oh, it wasn't really anything. I didn't feel it was anything worth mentioning."

"I see. The label had "Fallen Angel Maid Set #2' written on it in large letters, so everyone found it to be rather disturbing. But it wasn't anything to worry about?"

"N-no! Not at all!"

Kanzaki shook her head back and forth as she trembled at a high speed.

The manager either didn't notice how Kanzaki was acting or her thought pattern had gone forward or backwards to somewhere else.

"By the way, didn't you say you had to be at the Border base rather early today?"

Kanzaki tilted her head a bit before pulling out her phone. Her eyes bulged out as she saw the time.

"Yawn...I am quite sleepy."

"I have to go, but don't just stand here and sleep!"

With an almost inhuman burst of speed, Kanzaki raced through the hall and made her way to the dorm's entrance.

The dorm manager just wobbled in place.

* * *

After she had finished what she needed to, Kanzaki walked to the mess hall at the Border base.

She hadn't eaten breakfast yet, so she figured she might as well fill up her stomach now. She wasn't the "normally in a Trion body" person, she preferred her real body when it came to most things.

She could see there were a good amount of others around and tried to find somewhere to sit.

Kanzaki reached her table after a few seconds.

Kumagai, Akane, Suzume, and Kimura were sitting nearby. Seeing Kumagai pulling on Akane's cheek, Kanzaki guessed that the small girl had probably done something to annoy her upperclassman.

"Bh-bhut I only want to ask Suzume-senpai for her secret."

"Her secret? Don't be ridiculous."

"But I want to know how to get big breasts."

'What are they talking about?' Kanzaki thought as she covered her face with her hands in exasperation.

Meanwhile, Kumagai and Akane continued their argument.

"Akane. Girls don't need big breasts. Besides, what if they get in the way of your sniping? If anything, she has is worse off than you do. Not to mention it's painful on the back. Trust me on that."

"Wah! You say all that, but still declare yourself as having large breasts!? I won't let you draw the line as cruelly as that! And someone like you who complains about her breasts getting bigger even though you'd thought they'd stopped growing and saying they hurt wouldn't understand how I feeghaah!?"

As Akane was speaking, Kumagai's face had turned red and she pushed down on Akane's hatted red hair as hard as she could. As they struggled, the knives and forks on the table rattled.

Kanzaki gave them a warning as she watched on in utter amazement.

"Akane. And you too, Kumagai. Quit making such a racket. You're disturbing others."

But Akane wasn't listening.

She looked at an area a little bit below Kanzaki's face.

"And the point goes to special food!"

"Enough with this weird conversation, Akane! And you, Kanzaki. If you're going to be a part of this, put those things away!"

"They aren't like this to draw attention to them!"

Kanzaki shouted in return without thinking, but the females around averted their gaze and clicked their tongues lightly.

Kanzaki decided she would just get her food now before anything else decided to try and annoy her. So in front of Kanzaki was white rice and miso soup.

Kanzaki muttered "itadakimasu", picked up her chopsticks, and spoke.

"Really, what's with that washing machine? First it took all the color out of the obi to my yukata and today it broke so easily. That idiot Misó decides to be 'nice' and of course it backfires on us to accept it."

"Ah. Ah ha ha. Let's focus on our food. Okay?" Kimura tried to change the subject with an overly dry smile.

Meanwhile, the tall Kumagai and the small Akane were speaking.

"Uheh? Kumagai-senpai, that much will hold you until lunch?"

"Akane, you are taking too much food. What kind of menu is that? You don't need a chocolate drink or ice cream with breakfast."

"Hehh... Well, if you don't need all that, I'll eat it for you."

"I didn't say that! And don't steal my food, Akane!"

As the large and small agent combo struggled, Kanzaki removed the bones from her grilled fish and sighed. From the way they had just been talking about breasts, it was hard to believe that those two had hated Kanzaki around a month ago.

'It seems one's assessment of people can change given a chance...'

Kanzaki finished removing the bones from her grilled fish in an oddly solemn mood, popped open a small container and pulled out an umeboshi. It looked odd from another person's perspective since it really didn't look like umeboshi at all.

And...

When Kanzaki looked up, Kumagai and Akane were looking wide-eyed in her direction.

"Wh-what?"

Kanzaki was taken aback and the two agents whispered to each other.

"... Kumagai-senpai. She is about to eat something I've never seen before. Is that the 'special umeboshi' that Takaoto-san had 'worked on' I've heard about?"

"... I bet it's necessary for some kind of rigorous work out schedule. I've heard that Takaoto's 'works' help to gain more muscles, like some kind of American action hero."

"... Does eating that 'thing' really have that kind of effect? This could be our chance to learn about what peculiar direction working out has taken!"

Kanzaki couldn't decide whether to correct their misunderstanding or not, and Kimura nudged her shoulder.

Looking over, Kanzaki saw that Kimura's eyes were fixed on her umeboshi.

"What does that taste like? Can I try one?"

"S-sure. I don't mind... Wait, on your pasta!?"

Kanzaki was shocked to see Kimura put the special umeboshi on top of her pasta that was cream-colored as she had already put white sauce on it. As Kimura mixed it around, the pasta turned to a light color.

Kanzaki's face paled as she saw that, but surprisingly enough Kimura smiled in enjoyment when she took a bite.

"Hm, this is quite fresh. It has a refreshing flavor."

"Really, really!?" said Kumagai and Akane in excitement. But Kanzaki was the most surprised. Japanese-style pasta with soy sauce or mentaiko was one thing, but she doubted cream sauce with an umeboshi that had been a sort of experiment for another agent in it was actually good.

Suzume hadn't been getting into the conversation very much and she had had her head tilted to the side for a while by that point. With a completely happy-looking expression she muttered something about wondering how many meters long her food was as she continued to spin her fork around in thin air. She was probably asleep. Kanzaki tilted her head to the side in puzzlement at the fact that Suzume had been like this while there were a few "material moments" going on around them.

And then...

"K-Kanzaki-san! Me, too! Me, too! I want to try some special umeboshi, too!"

Akane was yelling while leaning forward on the table. Looking down, Kanzaki saw that her main dish was a soft croissant. Kanzaki was about to ask her what exactly she was going to put the umeboshi on, but she suddenly stopped.

'No, I can't give her the preconception that just because it's still umenoshi she can't eat it differently. She's open to new things like Kimura. Once she has tasted the special umeboshi, she should make her way to more healthy stuff.'

"S-sure. I have plenty, so if you want to try one, go ahead."

She consented humbly, but Kanzaki had actually asked Takaoto Mei from Tsukiko Squad to try and make them a bit more sour since they didn't seem to fit her taste. She herself had helped in the process so that she didn't feel like some lazy person who asked others for favors. The fact that people were praising them made her extremely happy on the inside, but she made sure she was a true Yamato Nadeshiko by hiding that feeling behind a calm façade.

Kanzaki took an umeboshi out of the container with her chopsticks and put it on a small plate. Akane took it with a cheer.

Kanzaki examined Akane's face to see how she would react to it.

"You put an umeboshi on something to eat it. But something seems a bit off..."

"Hah?" Kanzaki said as her eyes turned to dots.

She had a feeling there was a grand misunderstanding going in here, but she didn't do anything in regards to those fears.

Akane popped the umeboshi into her mouth without any caution at all.

And directly afterwards...

Her eyes turned to X's, her lips puckered up, and she fell backwards in her chair.

She abandoned her meal and ran from the dining hall screaming something.

* * *

"What to do... What to do... Maybe I can convince Kei to practice a bit with me. Some mochi should be enough to bribe him into it. Ah! And maybe I should go back to ask Kumagai if she would like to join!"

Despite being in Border and wielding Kōgetsu when she needed to, Kanzaki enjoyed going at it with a real blade from time-to-time. She always preferred to use a nodachi as apposed to a katana.

She had decided that, when she moved up to A-Rank, she would get a personalized Trigger and make it a nodachi. That was a bit difficult at the moment though since she was just a B-Rank agent. She had the skills of A-Ranks, she didn't have a squad so it was almost impossible for her to move up in rank though.

She did have her eye on a particular squad though.

There was only one issue...

"Kanzaki-san!"

A familiar voice reached her ears, Kanzaki turned her head to see Oshiro jogging up to her with a friendly smile.

The two had always gotten along well and always seemed to be smiling when speaking to each other.

"Hello, Hogo. What are you doing? I figured you would either be holding Epanástasi back or cuddling with Inukai."

Hearing the latter portion Oshiro instantly blushed as he caught up with her.

"Well... Ninomiya Squad is busy right now, so I have no reason to be over there. As for Kirai-kun... A-anyways! What are you doing? You seemed to just be wandering around aimlessly."

"I was going to get some mochi to bride Kei into a sword fight. I'm rather bored right now, so it seemed like something to pass the time. Would you care to join? If Kei says no then it's fine for us two, maybe some others, to have a round or two."

"Oh. That sounds nice. Although...I haven't held a real sword in my entire life. Even those plastic ones you can buy at any store, they never appealed to me before."

"..."

Kanzaki took note of the tone Oshiro had used when he said the last part. She knew what he meant by saying that, but let it side so that she wouldn't say something to hurt him. Like a true Yamato Nadeshiko, she respected him and didn't say anything.

"Ah. Hogo-senpai, Kanzaki-san, what is this~? What would others think if they saw you like this?"

The two turned around to see a boy with a dull expression walking up to them. He had a dull appearance and gave a dull feeling, and even spoke in a dull tone. The two gave him a smile though.

They waited for him to catch up to them.

"Hello, Girikage-kun. What are you doing over here? I would have thought that Hikigane-san would be training you right now."

"Oh. He was. Vice-captain started to annoy him though. My presence at that point was rather dull, so I had asked if I could leave. I was given a thumbs up."

Oshiro's smile fell a bit.

He stopped in his tracks and bowed in front of Daigo.

"I would...like to apologize for anything Kirai-kun may have caused between you and Sasamori-kun."

Kanzaki let out a sigh once she heard this. She knew how Misó was and could only image what he had done this time.

Daigo, on the other hand, shook his hands in front of him as he continued to give a dull look.

"It's fine. Really. Hisato-kun and I are fine. Although I did have to remind him never to listen to what Epanástasi says."

Oshiro lifted his body to give a small smile.

Both Kanzaki and Daigo wanted to cringe at the sadness in the smile, but restrained themselves.

"Well... Girikage, would you like to join us? We were going to head over and see Kei. After that we were going to go a few rounds with reals swords. Would you be interested?"

Just as Daigo was going to open his mouth...

 **ZZZ!**

All three turned to the sound of the noise and saw that it was coming from Oshiro's pocket.

"S-sorry! Can I...?"

The other two motioned for him to take the call.

They watched him walk a bit away.

Daigo turned to Kanzaki with the same dull look he had on the whole time.

"Kanzaki-san, of you don't mind me asking, why haven't you joined his squad yet?"

* * *

Kanzaki Sukuu leaned against the back of the dining hall chair she was sitting in and stared at the ceiling.

"What I should do...'

The circumstances were different for her than for someone like Daigo. She had been offered spots in squads before, but she always declined. There was always some reason that stopped her from taking up any offers, leaving her stuck at B-Rank. For her, someone who had the abilities of an A-Rank, this was an issue.

'How can I carry out the meaning of the reason I joined Border...?'

She didn't have enough power to decide the overall winner of something like a Rank War match, but she could completely alter the progress of a full top Mid Tier B-Rank squad by herself.

There was a mountain of options spread before her eyes.

Kanzaki was troubled by this issue she faced not because she couldn't do anything but because she _could_ do something.

'The strength that I possess, huh? That certainly is an arrogant way of thinking. I'd rather be getting a headache from that washing machine than this.'

She sighed.

Her benevolent spirit made the burden of her power as a strong B-Rank seem even greater. Essentially, she felt that she was better off than those around her due to her skills so she had to save even more people from the Neighbors in exchange. Depending on one's viewpoint, this could be taken as her looking down on others. It was quite an ugly character trait.

To Kanzaki, people like Daigo or Oshiro who were weaker (Kanzaki felt that that way of viewing of them needed work) and yet reached a hand out to others were almost too bright to look at.

"Kanzaki-san. What is it?"

As Kanzaki had been slowly thinking, the dorm manager had entered the dining hall.

Kanzaki found it hard to meet her gaze, so she continued to stare at the ceiling.

"... I'm embarrassed by my own lack of discipline. It scares me to think that someone this immature was even allowed into Border at times."

"The road to maturity is not an easy one. I myself have said many immature things before. If anything, I seem more like a small child than you can ever be."

"I can't believe that. You always seem to know what you are saying and say it with such confidence that I almost envy you for that. Your words alone are enough to help others. Even with a blade, I'm not completely sure if..."

"Hee hee hee." The dorm manager giggled for some reason.

Kanzaki looked over at the dorm manager while still leaning back in her chair.

"Envy, you say?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, nothing. That just means that you feel there is a different reason to fight. It seems Tachikawa-san and the others were right on target when they said that there is someone you love here in Mikado City."

Kanzaki fell backwards in her chair.

She yelled while still lying on the floor.

"Wh-why would they be saying something so inaccurate!? And when did you even meet Kei to begin with!?"

"My, my. It was when Kuruma-san showed up at the cafe with a single flower in one hand and the lovely man, Tachikawa-san, was speaking with him. Kuruma-san wanted to invite the strong B-Rank known as Kanzaki Sukuu to a dance, but Tachikawa-san told him it wasn't going to happen. In the middle of all this, Tachikawa-san shooed Kuruma-san away with his hands telling him that the B-Rank prefers to lead younger guys than to be led by older guys and then mentioned what I said earlier. It has become something of a legend."

"B-but that's completely untrue! And why has that been passed around as a legend! Dammit, Tachikawa Kei! There are better excuses you could have come up with!"

"Also, during this incident, another Border member, Teikō-san, was heard to comment 'I-I have to do my best!'."

"Why are you saying that like you're a news anchor reading from a teleprompter!?"

Kanzaki was making quite a fuss over this, but the dorm manager was being true to her habit of not listening to others. She smiled faintly, mentioned something about a stock of black tea, and headed into the kitchen.

Now that Kanzaki had much too late become aware of how the situation had spiraled out of control, she could do nothing but be dumbfounded and blush.

But then...

"Gyaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!"

Now she heard Kimura's scream coming from outside the dining hall.

"Agh! If it's not one thing, it's another!"

Kanzaki stood up and ran out of the dining hall.

She didn't know exactly where the scream had come from, but she knew the general direction, so she intently ran down the hallway.

She spotted Kimura sitting on the floor outside the changing room.

As Kanzaki approached, Kimura pointed towards the changing room while still sitting down.

"Th-the washing machine... The washing machine..."

An unpleasant noise came from Kanzaki's temple when she heard Kimura's broken up words.

It was that washing machine again.

It had caused a problem before breakfast and now it was causing another one before the previous one could be dealt with. Although it couldn't be properly considered a problem.

Her head was full of thoughts on joining a squad and people saying she had fallen in love and now it was the washing machine again.

'Is that thing really some detestable high-tech AI spy sent by that damn idiot!? I can't imagine it would cause this many problems otherwise!'

Kanzaki entered the changing room with enough intensity that she felt she would simply chop the thing in two with her Kōgetsu if it caused any more problems.

The bath was a large type and the changing room was large as well. She knew the washing machine should be in a corner of the changing room along with a scale.

She turned her gaze in that direction.

Mikado City's useless piece of trash of a washing machine that had taken the color out of her yukata's obi and malfunctioned while washing a futon was...

Making a loud washing noise.

It was properly washing the futon that had been stuffed inside it.

"Wha-...?"

Kanzaki had trouble breathing.

The washing machine was sold as being quiet, so it was irregular for it to be making this much noise. That meant that it was forcing itself to move. It was over its designed maximum load and had been ordered to go through an operation far from its normal operating environment. Even so, it had endured and endured and endured and was finally carrying out its task of washing an entire futon.

'Amazing...'

All strength left Kanzaki's body and she fell to her knees on the changing room floor.

Her feelings of anger had turned to ones of raging embarrassment.

'I was just reflecting on my own immaturity, and now this...'

That washing machine had had a giant futon there was no way it could wash stuffed inside of it, had nevertheless had its switch turned on, and had Kanzaki give up on it and leave. And yet it had been working on its own the entire time since. It had endured the pain and suffering continuing to do what it should and it had finally accomplished its supposedly impossible task. And yet she had been about ready to cut it in two...

The washing machine said nothing.

Its AI had no conversation functionality, so that was obvious.

But Kanzaki Sukuu heard it nonetheless.

She heard the voice of the washing machine.

"Kanzaki-san. I did it."

"~ ~ ~ ~!"

Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.

No words came to her. She merely threw her Trigger aside and embraced the square body of the washing machine like it was a long-lost family member.

* * *

Sukuu Kanzaki

Attacker

\- 18 Years Old

\- Born May 16

\- Felis, Bloody Type AB

\- Height: 5'6"

\- Likes: Swords, Heroes, Magic, Self-discipline


	7. Oshiro Hogo: Part 3

**This is going to be an idiotic chapter. You have been warned.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7:** Oshiro Hogo: Part 3

* * *

"Why the hell haven't I gotten enough time!? Even Misó got to show off what he could do!"

"I haven't even had a chapter to myself yet..."

Misó watched as the Shooter and Operator complained. He was sitting on one of the sofas with his captain laying on the other.

For one reason or another, the squad had been lazing around for the whole day. None of them wanted to do anything and Oshiro had been told to get some sleep since he had been working on the paperwork the whole time.

Misó turned away from the two complaing girl and took a look around the room.

He had been feeling bored lately and hadn't been in the mood to harass anyone. He himself _did_ have things to do, but he had gone with the atmosphere and become lazy for a while.

"This room is kinda boring, don't you two think?"

Hitsugi and Kimura turned their heads to face Misó.

"I mean, can't we redecorate or something? I thought the Japanese were suppose to have this 'pop' feeling to them? This feels more like some retirement house where each patient only has three visitors even while they're on their death beds."

"Well, it's not like we're in here all the time. Even when we are, we don't pay much attention to the decor here. The only other people who really come in here more than once a month are Yosuke and our brothers. Even they only come by when they're bored."

"Still. Can't we paint the walls? It would add more color to this boring place. I feel that watching that paint dry would even cure me of some of this boredom. With Shiro-kyun doing that pointless paperwork for Arashiyama, things've been so dull and boring that it would make even Dai-tan stand out."

"I wouldn't be talking about Girikage-kun if I were you. The issue with him and Sasamori-kun is hangs in the air because if you."

"Whatever. If they can't handle something like that then they obivously have nothing going for them."

"Again, you aren't one to talk about them."

Misó let out a frustrated sigh as he fell back into the sofa. He was getting annoyed with the boredom and was about ready to do something about it.

"Whatever, whatever. Hey, you two wanna go get something to drink?"

"Get your lazy ass up and get it yourself. We may not having much to do right now, but that doesn't mean we're just gonna go and do something for you."

"Hm? I didn't mean to get a drink for _me_. I thought this could be a good thing for you two. Shiro-kyun is probably gonna wake up at any moment now. I figured I would cure my boredom by helping you two out. You could be there, in front of him, when he wakes up and be all like 'Here you go, captain. We brought you some drinks for all your hard work~.' Or something like that."

Both Hitsugi and Kimura perked up a bit at this.

Seeing this, Misó finished his job with the final words.

"Maybe, just maybe, if he were to see how well the two lovely ladies did, he may even see you in a better light than he already does. And we all know how he already sees you two."

Misó grinned as he saw the two girls rush out of the room.

Hitsugi was an innocent girl, so it wasn't much of a problem to trick her, but he did have to find a way to get under Kimura's skin. Although, he already knew which cards to play with which person.

Misó shrugged his shoulders before lifting his body from the sofa with a small huff. He made his way over to Kimura's desk and looked closely around for a certain object.

"Aha~ Hehe~ Fun, fun, fun~"

* * *

Hitsugi hummed a small tune while Kimura walked next to her. The two had gone to the closest vending machine and gotten a few drinks. Thinking they might as well get something for a snack as well, they went to buy something.

As they were doing that Kimura realized they were both being tricked by Misó. She felt like hitting herself on the head for falling such a simple trick, but just let out a sigh instead. She hadn't told Hitsugi though, she looked too happy.

Once they reached the squad room they heard some odd noises. They were the kind of noises that little children should not hear until they were of age.

Kimura quickly grabbed the doorknob and turned it. They both rushed into the room at once.

What they saw was...

"Oh, captain~! I didn't know you could give such pain~! I think I've really fallen for you now~!"

The two girls were shocked to see Misó on the ground, cheek red and swollen. He was also holding his stomach and seemed to be in ecstasy. They looked over and saw Oshiro standing there with his fist clenched. Something seemed off with him though.

"Is...he _mad_?"

This was the first time either girl had seen Oshiro mad, and it made both of them shiver.

That was when Kimura noticed something. She moved her eyes from Oshiro to the area he was standing on. She saw what looked like white hair on the floor. Her gaze quickly went back up to see that Oshiro's hair was completely black, no hint of white at all.

It took only a few seconds for her to register what happened and glared at the fallen Misó. Being the only with even the potential of angering Oshiro, it was obvious who the culprit was from just a simple guess.

"Mi-"

Before anything could he said, Oshiro turned around and walked out of the room. The feeling he was giving off was something akin to a wild animal going on the hunt for its prey.

Kimura and Hitsugi froze up at this and started to sweat.

"I...am going out. I'll see you tomorrow."

Kimura wanted to turn around. She thought Oshiro would end up in the hospital again, but she just couldn't move her feet and face him.

Once Oshiro left the room, Misó stood up with a dazed expression. He wrapped his arms around himself and started talking.

"Ah~ Such lovely pain~ I didn't know Shiro-kyun could manage to make me feel like this with only two hits~ Ah... Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh~~~~~ I should do that again~~"

It was times like these that Kimura wanted to really strangle Misó. She held back though since that was what he probably wanted.

"Misó... You're pulling on our captain's last cords."

"Good to know~"

* * *

"..."

"Wow. That pause is longer than usual."

"..."

"You would think he of all people would say something by this point."

"..."

"Woof!"

Oshiro had his upper-body sprawled out on the table like some drunkard after a full night of drinking and continued to drink. He gave small hums whenever some had asked him something, but made no noise otherwise.

Yuki had seen his surrogate brother like this and was instantly at his side. He had asked what was wrong, but only got a hum as an answer. After some time it ended up with Yuki just sitting there with ice cream in his hands.

Minoru had shown up later when his puppy dog had run over after noticing Yuki and Oshiro just sitting there. He had asked about Oshiro, but was ignored in favor of ice cream.

Now here they were, three guys and a dog, sitting in the Border base with little words spoken between them.

"If I had to guess," Yuki started as he finished his tenth (large) bowl of ice cream, "it has something to do with Misó, right? Has he finally made you snap. I'm also guessing he's the idiot who cut your hair, right?"

Oshiro gave a small hum.

Yuki let out a sigh.

"That pieces of trash... I really going to beat the crap out of him the next time I see him..."

While Yuki muttered under his breath, Minoru and Taka tilted their heads.

He had known the two for a while (thanks to Inukai in both cases), but he didn't know certain things about them, like they didn't know certain things about him. A few of those things would have been why Yuki seemed to change how he addresses people when others weren't around and why Oshiro had dyed the tips of his hair white.

Yuki noticed the tilted heads and shook his head.

"Can't tell you. Ask Shiro yourself."

When Minoru took another look at Oshiro, he saw that Oshiro looked more sad than the last time he saw, a few seconds ago.

Taka, being the smart and lively pup he was, jumped down from Minoru's lap and made his way over to Oshiro.

"Woof woof! Woof!"

"I know, but that doesn't mean...-"

"Woof!"

"Sigh... Fine."

"Woof~"

Yuki and Minoru blinked a few times. They looked at each other than back at Oshiro, who now had Taka on his lap.

Both of them thought the same thing,

'He is either that sad about his hair, he can actually understand exactly what Taka is saying, or... He's lost his mind...'

Oshiro looked down at Taka before letting out a small sigh. He contined to pet the dog as he started to speak again, this time to one of the two at the table.

"Senpai...is it fun taking care of a dog?"

Blink.

"HUUUUUUUUUUUUH!?"

"Hey, hey, hey! Wait a minute! You can't just go changing that subject like that! After what the last scene showed, you should be worse off than this! I don't know what that puppy told you, or if you misunderstood him, but you can't just go from sulking about Misó to asking about pets!"

"Yeah, yeah! If you can change the subject with just a snap then I'm allowed to do the same and ask why the hell you two are taller than me when I'm older than both of you! That doesn't make any sense!"

Oshiro seemed to ignore the two as he lifted Taka's paws in the air with a small "Woo~ Woo~".

Yuki and Minoru let out simultaneous sighs at the fact they had just "lost" to Oshiro and Taka.

"Don't get me wrong," Oshiro said as he played around with Taka. "I am extremely mad at Kirai-kun for what he did. I even want to hit him again and again so that he will stop enjoying pain. I just don't see the reason to show it and bring others down. If I am mad at someone, there is no reason for others to see such an ugly thing."

Oshiro let out a small groan as he let go of Taka's paws and twirled his hair in front of him.

"Although... I don't think dying my tips would be the best way to get the white back. If he continues this then I will end up with a bad haircut all around. Maybe a single streak will do. If he decides to cut that off then it should be easy to cover that up."

The two older ones didn't know what to think about all if this. They have both shown others what they look like when mad, but Oshiro hid that side of him so well that it made the other two feel like they had lost am important battle.

"So, back to my question."

* * *

Oshiro made his way back to his squad room. He had his phone in front of him, multiple hair designs were on the screen. He had looked up different ways he could add white back into his hair, but had yet to find a good way.

"Maybe I can-"

"Shiiiiiiiirrrooooooooo-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!"

"Haru-sa- Byph!?"

Oshiro was quickly tackled into a hug just as he turned around.

Inukai, who had been the offender, gave a cry as he held onto Oshiro.

"H-Haru-san, why are you-"

"I heard what Misó did to you and your hair! I'm sorry I couldn't do anything!"

Oshiro gave a small laugh.

"Aren't I usually the one apologizing?"

Something as simple as getting a small haircut may not have seemed like much to most people, but that white hair was meant to represent something. The only other people who this were Inukai and Yuki. Narasaka and Shouhei didn't know, and neither did his own squad.

Inukai felt bad about it and was ready to do something for his boyfriend. Whether it was showing Oshiro with kisses or buying him dinner, Inukai was determined to make the younger one happy.

He would even...

"Hey, Haru-san, how do you think I would look with a white streak in my hair?"

Once Inukai hear this, his mind started going through different looks. One of his favorites quickly became a circle of white around the top of Oshiro's head, making it seem like a halo.

He quickly grabbed Oshiro into another hug, but while also speaking in a more energetic tone.

"So cute~ My Shiro-chan would look just like a cute little angel with a halo~! Ah! But wait! If he attracts others with his cuteness, he would be more like a little devil... Gah! My cute little fallen angel~! Ah! I've got it! Hey, Shiro-chan, how would you feel wearing an Erotic Maid Fallen Angel costume~!?"

"Wh- cough cough! H-Haru-san!? Where did you get that from!? No! Hold on! Where did you _pull that out from_!? Do you have some kind of secret pocket in there that can hide any erotic item for you to use on me!?"

Inukai happily held out the dreaded costume that had many girls, Hitsugi and Kimura included, question their choices in life once put on. He held it out with a proud smile that was nothing unlike a father looking at his good-for-nothing son finally getting married.

Oshiro on the other hand seemed to have choked on something since he started coughing while rejecting the evil costume.

"Maybe I should come back another time..."

The two stopped their back-and-forth, with Inukai patting Oshiro because of the coughing, and looked over to see Takeshi standing there with a messenger bag. The bag seemed to be moving a little bit.

Inukai and Oshiro noticed this and raised an eyebrow once they heard an odd, yet familiar, noise. They turned to Takeshi as he lifted the bag up and held it out to them.

They were about to question what he was doing when...

"Woof..."

A small head belonging to a puppy came out of the bag, looking rather shy. Just from what they could see, the couple saw that it was a puppy German Shepard.

They both found the dog to be cute, but what made them want to _swoon_ was the fact there seemed to be crumbs around its mouth.

Both Inukai and Oshiro let out a simultaneous "Uwaaaah~~ So cuuuuuute~" the moment they saw the pup.

"Hogo-senpai, I was wondering if you wanted to take care of him. He had accidentally gotten him while in Germany, but none of us are really in a position to take care of a pet. His name is Krümel. Someone from the Border in Germany named him that."

"R-really!? I would be more than happy to take care of this little guy!"

As he spoke, Oshiro slowly reached out his hand.

The dog stuck his head back in the bag before taking another peak.

"He's shy. Also... I'm pretty sure he took a crap on the bag, so you can have that as well."

"Hm? But don't you need it?" Inukai asked.

"It's fine. I took it from Tobio's room."

Inukai let out a small laugh while Oshiro tried to get near the dog again.

He slowly moved his hand forward, under the dog's head. He left his hand there for a few second. He saw Krümel sniff his hand for a few seconds before giving a small lick.

"Hello there, Krümel-kun. I'm Hogo Oshiro. Would you like to stay with me?"

Krümel gave another small lick to Oshiro's hand.

Giving a kind smile, Oshiro lifted the dog into his arms and started talking to Krümel in a kind tone.

"Uwaaaaaaaaah~~~~ They're soooooo cuuuuuute~~~"

Inukai quickly brought his phone out and started taking pictures from multiple angles.

Takeshi just let out a sigh as he set the bag on the ground.

Just as Takeshi was about to leave, he heard fast moving footsteps and moved to the side, pulling Oshiro with him.

"HAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

In one quick move, Inukai was tackled to the ground with a large about of force. Oshiro and Takeshi could swear they had even heard a crack or two.

They looked over to see a brown haired boy with a trapper hat on sitting on top of Inukai.

"Hey, hey! Haru! Let's go a few rounds! I'll even 'turn off' my Side Effect! That should make things interesting, right!?"

Takeshi let out a sigh and shook his head.

Next to him, Oshiro puffed out his cheeks. He saw Inukai give a laugh while patting Toby's head.

Takeshi went over and took Toby off of Inukai. He pulled the brunet to the side while Oshiro walked up to them.

Oshiro had set Krümel on the ground and lifted Inukai up and on his feet. He quickly wrapped his arms around the blond's stomach and gave a (not so) intimidating look in Toby's direction.

"Haru-san is mine! I won't give him to even you, Awdry-kun!"

Inukai swore that he would die from all the moe he was receiving at this point. He wanted to say something to appease Oshiro, but instead just hugged Oshiro yet again while fawning over Oshiro like an energetic person would over a child.

Takeshi and Toby just watched. They gave each other a small glance, but quickly turned their heads away.

The two hugging heard a small whine and looked down to see Krümel nudging Oshiro's leg.

Oshiro got out of Inukai's grasp and picked the pup back up, apologizing for leaving him out.

"Hey, Oshiro..."

Inukai looked over to see Toby, who had calmed down, looking at him.

"Yes?"

"You wanna have a match? Haru's and all, but I've never actually gone a round with you."

"Wow... Thanks for that..."

Oshiro waved Inukai off, and have Toby a kind smile.

"Okay. I'm fine with that. Do you want to go now?"

"Yeah! Let's do this!"

The four males, and one dog, started to make their way over to the booths.

Toby took a look at Oshiro and scrunched up his eyebrows.

"By the way, what happened to your hair?"

"..."

Inukai and Takeshi quickly turned to Toby while Oshiro started drawing circles on the ground near the wall. A dark cloud hung over his head.

Takeshi sighed and shook his head.

Inukai, although a very kind guy and always happy, looked like he was actually about to hit Toby. That was to he expected though, after all, Toby had reminded his boyfriend about something he didn't want to remember.

"Toby...why are you so dumb?"

"What did I do!?"


	8. Krümel

**Chapter 8:** Krümel

* * *

Oshiro furrowed his eyebrows as he walked towards a certain room in the Border base, Krümel in his arms, looking around curiously. He didn't want to do this, but he figured it was the best option for him at the time.

Krümel - Oshiro's new pet - continued to look around curiously. Every time he would catch the eye of someone that wasn't his owner he would duck his head into Oshiro's arms, which were gently wrapped around his body.

The small dog had been cautious about everything that didn't seem to be Oshiro, showing just how shy he really was. He had quickly gotten use to Oshiro's home, and ended up sleeping with Oshiro in his bed. His new owner didn't mind in the slightest. He wasn't able to get use to the base though, too big for him to feel comfortable in. Oshiro knew this and so he tried to ease Krümel into his new surroundings.

That was pretty hard to do under the current circumstances.

Now that he had new contacts, Oshiro wasn't swarmed by a group of people as big as before, but with the addition of Krümel that changed. He was now swarmed because of the dog, but he didn't blame the dog in the slightest. He had to calm everyone down, even managing to raise his voice to do so, before the shy pup in his arms started shaking. Oshiro found out he would tend to do that when very uncomfortable.

Shaking his head to get those (scary) scenes out of his head, Oshiro continued on his walk. He saw Krümel duck his head again and let out a small chuckle. He patted the pup on the head as they reached their destination.

Oshiro tilted his head as he lifted his hand to grab the doorknob. He could hear two voices inside, but one didn't belong to the squad that used the room.

He opened the door as Krümel ducked his head.

"Um... Hello?"

When he opened the door he saw that the two voices belonged to Inukai and another person wearing glasses.

"Shiro-ch-"

"Oh! Hello, Rokkun!"

Inukai quickly slumped to the floor, drawing circles on the floor as he muttered something or other.

"Rokkun" - real name being Wakamura Rokurō - gave a greeting in return.

The two had met, unsurprisingly, when Inukai had introduced them. It had been after the older one had finished up helping Wakamura practice. The two quickly got along and even started teasing Inukai in some shape or form.

During that time, Inukai had a proud look on his face while wiping a (fake) tear from his eyes. At that moment he had known was it felt like when a parent saw their child finally make their first friend. Even if Oshiro already had multiple friends.

Inukai had been happy that his boyfriend and student had gotten along so well. The only issue was...

"Oh! Right! This little guy is Krümel. Kotowari-kun asked if I could take care of him, so I said it was fine."

"Hello there."

"Ah. Sorry. He's shy."

"Well, if you're his owner then that shyness shouldn't be a problem."

"Hahaha."

Inukai continued to draw circles on the ground as the other two ignored him, deciding to just talk to each other instead. He knew this would happen once Oshiro came into the room, but still had some hope. The two would always go about ignoring his presence when they got together.

Inukai had never felt hurt by being ignored since he knew that nether Wakamura nor Oshiro were intentionally ignoring him. He did feel a bit left out though, which always prompted him to...

"Shiro-chaaaaaaaaaaaaan~!"

Inukai jumped up and quickly latched on to Oshiro, arms wrapped around the younger's neck and nose nuzzling his neck. He seemed to get the reaction he wanted as Oshiro went red while Wakamura went wide eyed.

Krümel, who had jumped from Oshiro's arms upon impact, looked up at his new owner. He tilted his head without making a single noise.

Oshiro patted Inukai's head while muttering different things.

"Haru-san, I'm sorry for ignoring you, but I need to ask you something. Can you please get off now?"

Doing as he was told, Inukai moved back to look at his boyfriend.

"Alright. So, what did you need to ask then?"

"I wanted to know if you could take care of Krümel-kun for me. Just for a little bit. I know you've taken care of Taka-kun before, so I know I can trust you with this."

Inukai tilted his head for a few seconds before getting a grin on his face. That grin made the other three in the room take a step back.

Inukai walked a bit closer to Oshiro and got a full smile.

"Alright~ I'll watch him~ On~one~condition~"

"No! I _will not_ wear that Erotic Maid Fallen Angel outfit! No! No! No! I'm sorry, Haru-san! But that is something I refuse to do no matter who asks me!"

"Aaaaaaawwwww~~~ But you took my advice and got that white halo on your head now~"

"Th-that's because O-Onii-san also said it would look good! Mei-san said the same thing! That doesn't mean I will wear that outfit! B-besides! Why d-do you want me to wear that s-so badly!?"

"Because! You would so cuuuuuuuuuute in it! And because I wanna take some pics of you in it!"

"N-no! Cough cough! I refuse! Cough! Wh-why would you want s-something like that as side dish while you c-can just call me!?"

"SHIIIIIIIIRRRRROOOOOOO-CHAAAAAAAAANNNN! You're the best!"

By this point Wakamura was just staring with wide eyes while trying to process everything he was hearing. Having Oshiro actually _yell_ was one thing, but having his mentor pull a strange outfit from nowhere went a bit overboard.

Wakamura turned his gaze to the dog, who was now hiding, that was there. He could see that Krümel was just as confused, as well as being a bit scared.

"What _are_ you two doing?"

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing to face the door. Standing there was the captain of Ninomiya Squad - Ninomiya Masataka. Behind him was Minoru, looking rather amused.

.

While Oshiro's face went completely red, Inukai tried to find a way to explain things, and Wakamura tried to see if he could escape, a certain samoyed puppy happily walked in. Taka noticed something cowering away from the others and saw that it was another dog.

Being interested in the fellow dog, Taka walked over to Krümel and stopped in front of him.

Krümel noticed Taka there and tried to hide more of his body behind the leg of the table.

Taka sat down at that spot and lifted his paw while a happy bark.

Minoru noticed the two dogs, but said nothing. He just watched from his spot with his body tilted to the side for a better look. He found the small scene cute.

Krümel slowly - almost agonizingly so - moved his head from hiding behind the table's leg. His small nose could be seen moving a bit, making him all that much more cute. After a few more seconds he moved his whole body out from behind the leg.

Taka moved forward towards Krümel until he was in front of the other dog. He gave another happy bark before turning around and making his way to the door of the room. Once he noticed that the German Shepard wasn't following him Taka turned around and made his way back.

He made his way back over to Krümel again. This time he lightly tugged on Krümel's fur as if telling him, "Come on! Follow me!"

Krümel wasn't sure what to do, but went along with Taka after a few seconds.

.

"I-I should go now..."

Oshiro gave a bow as he headed for the door.

"...?"

Oshiro turned around and started looking at different parts of the room. He knew he was getting odd looks from three of the other four in the room, but didn't seem to mind.

He quickly shot up with a worried look.

"I'm sorry, but does anyone know where Krümel is?"

Inukai and Wakamura also started looking around.

Minoru, who was now sitting down, pointed towards the door.

"Yeah. He walked out with Taka a while ago. Don't worry, Taka will take care of him."

* * *

Taka happily walked through Border's halls with his new puppy friend trailing slowly behind. They had gotten some looks and squeals from others that passed by. Thanks to those things, Krümel stuck closer to Taka.

Taka was so happy that he was "showing his friend around" that he didn't notice how uncomfortable Krümel was about the whole thing.

Multiple times Krümel had thought of turning around and running back to the room he thought Oshiro was in. He continued to stay with Taka though since Krümel continued to see people he didn't know all around them, looking at them with odd looks.

Krümel was already a shy dog, but it didn't help with so many unknown people around him. He had been picked up by a certain someone in Border while they were over in Germany and was sent to Japan to be taken care of. That kind of quick move also made him rather wary of things around him.

Although he was happy to be with someone like Oshiro.

As they contained to walk, Taka noticed a certain someone and started running towards them. Krümel quickly caught up and tried to keep up.

"Woof!"

.

Arafune Tetsuji, the captain of the B-Rank Arafune Squad, jumped when he heard the bark from behind him. He had a rather bad experience with a dog when he was younger that made him dislike dogs.

Long story short, he got bit on the butt for no reason by a dog.

Slowly - ever so slowly - Arafune turned around to see a certain samoyed puppy and German Shepard sitting there, looking up at up. The samoyed puppy even had his tail wagging.

"Hold on now... Just keep your distance..." Arafune held out his arm while backing away.

"Woof!"

Another jump.

While Arafune and Taka seemed to be "communicating", Krümel slowly peaked out from being Taka. He looked up at Arafune with wide eyes, as if examining him. He was getting a calm feeling from Arafune, so he moved a bit forward.

Arafune noticed the German Shepard walking closer to him and started to back up.

Krümel stopped when he saw Arafune back up. He lowered his head in sadness but didn't move from his spot.

Even Arafune Tetsuji, a man who disliked dogs, felt bad for getting Krümel sad. Giving in to his guilt, Arafune stopped moving backwards and watched as Krümel slowly looked up. He continued to stay still while Krümel slowly moved forward, never taking his eyes off of Taka.

Once he was close enough, Krümel nudged Arafune's leg while letting out a small whine.

 **Thump!**

Arafune couldn't deny that what he was seeing right now was a very adorable sight. That is if the extra beat of his heart was anything to go by.

The B-Rank captain lowered his body and hesitantly put his hand out. He lowered his hand and gave a quick, but gentle pat on Krümel's head. Krümel looked up at Arafune and started to wag his tail.

Seeing that the pup was happy with it, Arafune gave another two pats on Krümel's head.

"Woof!"

Both Arafune and Krümel jumped when they heard the sudden bark from the hall. They looked over to see Taka running up to them.

Seeing the other dog run, Arafune jumped up and moved back, arm out once again.

Taka stopped next to Krümel and tilted his head to the side. Understanding that Arafune was keeping his distance, Taka's tail stopped wagging and he lowered his head.

"I-I should get going... You two should get back to your owners..."

With that, Arafune took his leave.

Krümel lifted his paw and patted Taka's head.

Not being a pup that wanted to be sad, Taka quickly perked up and gave a few barks. He turned back to the hallways and started running again.

Krümel quickly followed behind.

* * *

"Hm... Where are they...?"

Oshiro nervously looked around in worry. He had been trying to find the two pups. He had been worried about his new pup since he thought that the shy Krümel wouldn't be able to keep up with the hyperactive Taka. He had asked for help, so Inukai, Minoru and Ninomiya also went on the search. Wakamura had told him that he was sorry since he had defense duty with his squad.

Now here he was, looking for the two dogs. He had been told that he was overreacting and that they would be fine, but the others knew that he wouldn't be satisfied until he saw them.

"Krümel-kun is pretty small... What if someone hit him since they didn't see him...!? ... Where is he!?"

He knew he was jumping to conclusions at this point, but he wanted to make sure that the small puppy was fine. He had quickly started to care for the dog, that meant he would worry himself to death for that dog.

As he searched some more he saw a familiar person up ahead. He hadn't forgotten about what that person had done to him not even a week ago, but he had almost forgiven him by now. So, deciding to ask for help in the one person who seemed to have almost all the knowledge in the world, Oshiro ran forward.

"Kirai-kun! Kirai-kun, over- BUUUFF!?"

Misó turned around and raised an eyebrow when he saw nothing.

He shrugged and turned back to what was in his hand - his phone.

.

Oshiro stared in a familiar pair of eyes as a hand was held to his mouth.

"Shiro-chan, I know you're worried about Krümel, but I'm seriously begging you not to go to Misó for help. Who knows what he'll ask in return for the information."

Oshiro quickly moved Inukai's hand from his mouth.

"I'm still a little mad at him for cutting my hair, but I'm putting that to the side. I want to make sure that Krümel-kun is fine. Kirai-kun is the best person to ask if I want information. I know he'll probably ask for something out of this world as compensation, but I can deal with it. He is my squad members anyways, so it's not like I can just ignore him altogether."

Inukai was a bit taken back at the small glare (pout) he was receiving. He had only seen that look on Oshiro's face whenever he got jealous over Inukai himself. No one else had ever been able to get Oshiro to give that kind of look.

"..."

Letting out a sigh, Inukai scratched his head.

"Putting Misó to the side, I also came by to tell you that a certain dog-disliking person has told me he had a 'special encounter' with two dogs."

It didn't take more than five seconds for Oshiro to start running in some random direction.

Inukai was startled by the sudden sprint and blinked a few times before chasing after his boyfriend. The whole time he was yelling out,

"Shiro-chan! Wait! I haven't even told you which direction they went!"

* * *

Krümel was hiding.

After following Taka into a rather large area of the Border base, Krümel had lost sight of the other pup. He wasn't able to see where the other pup had gone and quickly got lost. Now he was hiding under some seats as multiple pairs of feet walked by him.

"Hm? What's wrong, little guy? Why are you hiding there?"

Krümel jumped at hearing the voice in front of him. He had his eyes closed the whole time so he hadn't noticed the person there.

He felt a pair of arms gently grab him and get him out from under the seats. The spot he had hit with the chair was now being gently rubbed at.

Deciding that he could at least see who this person was, Krümel started to open his eyes. Who he saw a tall person who has chin-length hair pulled back. The person was wearing a casual shirt with the emblem of the #3 A-Rank squad on the side of the chest. This person was a member of the #3 Kazama Squad - Utagawa Ryō

"You hit yourself pretty hard there, huh?"

Hearing the kind and friendly voice, Krümel started to relax in the guy's arms, if only slightly. Krümel could tell that his man was as kind and friendly as his voice.

Utagawa started looking around to see if he could spot anyone who was looking for the pup in his arms. He knew that Taka would often be seen around, but this was the first time he had seen Krümel anywhere.

"Utagawa, I believe that I have a friend of that puppy you are holding."

Utagawa turned around to see Kanzaki Sukuu walking up to him with Taka in her arms.

"Oh. Kanzaki-san. So this puppy is friends with Taka, huh?"

Kanzaki didn't have time to answer as Taka jumped from her arms and went up to Utagawa.

Doing what Taka probably wanted, Utagawa placed Krümel on the ground and watched as Taka seemed to fuss over his friend. The sight brought a smile to the two agents' faces.

"So, how did you even come across Taka in the first place?"

"I was making my way over here when I saw him looking around. That pup is rather smart for a dog. He simply guided me in the direction he thought he lost his friend. I had no reason not to help, so I just let him guide me. And you? How did you find that pup?"

"I saw him shaking under the benches and went to get him. I guess I scared him since he jumped up and ended up hitting his back on the bottom of the benches. He warmed up to me rather quickly though."

"Hm. That is to be expected, I suppose."

"By the way, do you happen to know who's dog he is? Maybe we could ask Minoru since Taka knows the puppy."

"Actually... Misó has told me that his captain had recently started to take care if a dog. I had yet to meet up with Hogo Oshiro, but I can guess that this is the dog Misó was referring to. Both Hogo and Hato- Ahem... I mean Minoru... Are friends, so it would not be surprising to see their dogs get along."

Utagawa just nodded his head. It really was a simple thing to figure out once you thought about it. Both Oshiro and Minoru had dogs, a person they knew well (Inukai) could take care of them, so it wouldn't be stretch to assume that they would ask him to take care if the dogs.

Turning back to the girl, Utagawa saw that she was looking around.

Kanzaki continued to turn her head, as if searching for someone or something.

"Kanzaki-san?"

"Hm? Oh. It is nothing. I was just looking to see if Hogo is anywhere around. I'm rather glad you found his dog. I have been meaning to ask himself thing rather important."

Utagawa tilted his head a bit. He wasn't so sure what she was talking about but, he knew that Kanzaki was a person who always meant was she said. Which meant that if she said something was important, it was important.

Before he could ask what it was, a familiar voice could be heard.

"Krümel-kun! Taka-kun!"

Oshiro and Inukai could be seen running up to the two agents and two dogs. It didn't take long for the two to reach the four, but Taka seemed excited and so ran forward. He ended up tackling Inukai as Oshiro passed by.

Oshiro quickly picked Krümel up and started looking over his body to see if the pup was fine. After confirming that everything was alright with Krümel, he turned to the two there.

"Oh! Kanzaki-san! Utagawa-kun! Hello! Did you two find Krümel-kun?"

"No. Utagawa found him," Kanzaki said as she pointed to the A-Rank. "I was simply led here by the other dog. We barely met up a minute ago."

Oshiro turned to Utagawa and gave a deep bow. "Thank you, Utagawa-kun."

"It's fine. No need for thanks."

"See~?" Inukai walked up to them with Taka in his arms. "I told you they were fine, Shiro-chan. No one would mess with these two here."

"Right... I'm sorry, Haru-san."

"Hahaha! There's no need to apologize!"

Oshiro went a bit red at this.

"I apologize for interrupting, but I would like to ask you something, Hogo."

Oshiro turned to Kanzaki as he fixed Krümel's position in his arms. He had spoken to Kanzaki a few times, but really knew her because of Misó and Kimura. He had always seen her as an "unreachable beauty" type of person.

Inukai also turned to her. He knew more about what she was like, so he was interested in what she wanted with his boyfriend. He was a bit cautious though since he knew that she was one of the people who ended up in a similar category as Oshiro's team.

"Hogo Oshiro, I would like to challenge you to a match. A ten round match. I would like to see how well you do against me."

"E-eh...? Oh! Uh... S-sure. But...could we make that a five round match instead? I actually have something to do later on."

"Very well. I am fine with that as well. I have heard that you have an...interesting way of fighting. You don't participate in the B-Rank wars, so I am never able to see how well you do."

"Okay. I'm fine with that. Although I sorry about not being in the B-Rank wars. None of us have a reason to enter, is all."

Kanzaki was about to point out that he didn't need to apologize, but being a Yamato Nadeshiko she kept her mouth shut.

Looking between the two, Utagawa spoke up.

"We can watch over Krümel and Taka while you two go at it."

"Really? Thank you very much!"

"It's no problem."

Inukai stayed quite during this time. He believed in Oshiro and would even cheer for him, but he knew just how skilled Kanzaki was. He had long decided that he wouldn't go against any decision Oshiro made as long as it wouldn't hurt him in any way. This was one if the times where he wouldn't say anything on the matter.

He could actually say he was interested in this fight as well. It was true that Oshiro had a very different style than most, so it was always something for Oshiro to watch. He was use to Ninomiya's firing, Minoru's incorporation of Triggers with general close combat, and Yuki's tricks and feints, but seeing Oshiro fight always kept him glued to the sight.

"Well! Just remember, Shiro-chan! I'll be right there to cheer you on!"

Inukai looked over to see Oshiro smiling down at Krümel.

"First my own student, now a dog... I just can't win with you, can I, Shiro-chan?"

Utagawa patted Inukai's back as he saw the blond sulk.

Kanzaki tilted her head in confusion though.

"Sigh~ That least those two look so adorable together."

* * *

 **I sincerely apologize for this...** **weird, lazy and idiotic _c_** **hapter...**


	9. Sukuu Kanzaki: Part 2

**Chapter 9:** Sukuu Kanzaki: Part 2

* * *

'I wonder what Kanzaki-san wants to get out of this match. She said she wanted to see how I fight but... It's not like I'm anything special...'

Oshiro let out a sigh as he accepted the challenge from the A-Rank material B-Rank agent. He may have been fine with the match, but that didn't mean he didn't have some questions. One of which being,

"How does she even fight?"

He, like her, had only heard about how she fought. He had never seen her actually fight. There were times when he joined her practices, but those were just simple things. It never shows just how well she could fight.

Now was a good chance for him to learn more about her.

* * *

Once the two were sent into the virtualized battlefield, Oshiro got a look at what Kanzaki looked like in her uniform. Her outfit was certainly different than his semi-strange Border uniform consisting of a hoodie under what looked to be a yukata top and pants that had knots at the ankles and just above the knees.

Kanzaki still had her hair in the long ponytail while she wore a black t-shirt, tied in a knot on the side, a jacket and pants. The end of her pants were tucked into a pair of combat boots that went a quarter of the way up her leg. At her side was a Kōgetsu blade thang hung at her side like a gunslinger.

"That's certainly an interesting way to have Kōgetsu."

"It makes things a bit easier for me in matches."

"I see..."

With nothing else to say, and the system saying for them to start, the two began.

What they started with was...

Standing there.

Neither Oshiro nor Kanzaki moved an inch. While Kanzaki stood there with her hand at the hilt of her Kōgetsu, Oshiro held his own Kōgetsu in both hands, looking ready for an attack to come his way.

It looked rather odd to anyone who watched.

"It seems that what I have heard is right. Your style of fighting is a defensive and evasive one. I was planning on getting you once you charged at me, but that doesn't seem to be the case."

Shifting her feet a bit, Kanzaki lowered her hips and looked ready to draw her blade at any moment.

"Very well... Here I come."

A small blue plate appeared just under Kanzaki's foot. Once she stepped on it she was send flying forward at incredible speed towards Oshiro.

Oshiro moved to the side in order to dodge the attack. He didn't go for an attack though, and instead opted for bringing up Kōgetsu to block the next attack from Kanzaki. He made the right choice as Kanzaki quickly moved her right foot on the ground and twirled her body like a tornado to attack with more force.

Oshiro was send back due to the force that he now had to deal with. He hadn't seen it but he guessed that she had used Grasshopper to increase her speed within the small distance and thereby increasing her power.

Kanzaki didn't waste any time as was quickly above him, Kōgetsu ready to strike him down at that moment. Her quickly brought it down with a small "Senku."

Oshiro scrambled to dodge by rolling on the ground. He got up and jumped back as another extended slash made its way over to him. He brought up Kōgetsu again as an onslaught of strikes from Kanzaki prevented him from doing anything else.

He was completely outmatched, that was something anyone could see.

He wasn't able to attack at all, or make any move to properly defend. All he could do was try his best to keep track of the quickly moving blade that his opponent held in her grasp.

It didn't seem like a fair match.

'Would Kirai-kun even be able to beat her?'

As he thought this, Oshiro continued to receive cuts all around his body. He hadn't been able to block every single strike, and now it was really showing.

"You're open."

Oshiro had no time to react as he was quickly cut in half by Kanzaki and her Kōgetsu.

 **Hogo Bail Out**

* * *

Oshiro landed on the mat with a small "Thud" and stared at the ceiling.

He had been against people who he hadn't been a good match for but, Kanzaki seemed to be on a completely different level from them.

Oshiro's style of fighting relied more on teamwork than individual skill and power. He would set up the traps for his teammates or defend and evade so that his teammates could land their attacks, but he felt that even that would work on someone lime Kanzaki.

Kanzaki's skill showed by the way she moved without any wasted moves, as well as the way she swung her sword in a decisive manner that years of experience would give. Oshiro could now see that even if she was a B-Rank agent, she definitely had the skills of an A-Rank. A rather high ranking one at that.

 _"Before we begin the next round, I would like to point out that it's best not to get distracted during any fight. A single useless thought could lead to your loss. You had an opening due to one of those thoughts, and I'm not nice enough to let something like that go."_

"Right... I'm sorry about that. You just overwhelmed me so much that I wondered in my squad's ace would evem be able to take you on."

 _"Misó is not here, so there is no reason to think about him. Besides... The more he isn't around, the better for everyone else."_

'Can't really deny that...'

Oshiro gave a sheepish laugh as he got ready for the next round.

It may have been obvious how the next round would turn out, but they continued.

"Anyways... Shall we get to the next fight? I'm sure you want to get this over with, huh."

"..."

* * *

"Maaaaaah~~ Maybe I should have said something to Shiro-chan before he accepted the challenge."

Utagawa turned to give Inukai a curious look. The two had been watching the match happen with each holding one of the dogs.

Utagawa hadn't actually seen Oshiro or Kanzaki fight before, so he wasn't sure what to expect. Even as he watch the two fight he wasn't sure how good the two actually were. He could easily see that Kanzaki was skilled, but that didn't mean much when all he saw of Oshiro was blocking and evading.

"I was right. Kanzaki-san is too much for Shiro-chan to handle. She just can't be beat by him. Since I'm his boyfriend I can say with with completely confidence and not get reprimanded later for it~!"

"Are you sure that's something you should be saying about your own partner? Shouldn't you have more faith in him and his abilities?"

"Don't get me wrong. I know better than most how skilled Shiro-chan is. The issue is that he works waaaaaaay better with others than as an individual. If anything, he hates having to fight by himself. He never really goes out of his way to fight others in a solo match, so he doesn't have the best score. He's good at supporting though."

"I see..."

There were quite a few people like that, ones who were much better at sporting their teams than gaining points themselves. Tsuji from Inukai's squad was one of those people.

These people focused more on backing up their squads than having a side-by-side battle with them and gaining points. Unlike most agents, they didn't fight as much for themselves as they did for their squad. It was just how they were.

Although...

"Even the other support-type agents can handle themselves well enough in a one-on-one fight. He doesn't even seem to be taking any steps to land hits on Kanzaki-san."

"That's because he refuses to attack for himself. It isn't that he won't attack others, it's that he won't attack others if it's just him fighting. If he was fighting with his squad and saw one of his teammates in trouble, he would have no problem taking out the opponent as quickly as possible."

"Really? But then why is he..."

"Because he's too kind for his own good. He knew how things would turn out, but went along with the challenge for Kanzaki-san because she had asked him. It's both an endearing and enduring quality of his."

Inukai let out an airy sigh as he continued to watch and let Taka.

* * *

'I'm starting to see her attacks better...'

Oshiro continued to block and evade the barrage of attacks coming from Kanzaki. He seemed to be doing better than before since he didn't have as many cuts as before. He was still completely outmatched, but now he was able to move a bit more freely.

Kanzaki noticed this as well.

'If he can block or evade this next attack...'

Kanzaki jumped back. She didn't have to worry about being attacked for doing so. It was obvious to her that Oshiro refused to take a step forward in order to launch an attack.

She could easily tell that Oshiro was a much better fighter when working with others, so she didn't feel as accomplished as she would normally. Since her opponent wouldn't show any more of what he was capable of, she decided that now would be a good time to end the fight.

Which was just what she did.

Kanzaki stood up straight and sheathed her sword. She could see Oshiro go into another defensive stance, but didn't bother with trying to find a way around it. She just calmly stood there with her hand on the hilt.

What happened next was something that shocked Oshiro.

Kanzaki made her next attack.

A flash.

 **Hogo Bail Out**

* * *

"What...happened?"

Utagawa stared with wide eyes as Oshiro got taken out.

Inukai let out a small laugh at the other's shock. He knew what had happened, but decided not to answer until Oshiro and Kanzaki made it back to them. It was a rather simple attack that anyone with enough experience could pull off.

Inukai just wanted to make sure that Oshiro knew what it was.

The wait wasn't a long one.

"Good job on learning during the second round."

"Thank you. Although I didn't expect you to finish it with something as amazing as that. I didn't expect it."

Utagawa continued to look confused as the two B-Ranks continued talking. He had yet to figure out what was going on and what happened during the end of the match.

Taking pity on the guy, Inukai spoke up. His tone was rather playful and had a rather cheery sound to it.

"It was Senku. Kanzaki-san used Senku to beat Shiro-chan. It might not have looked like it, but it was definitely Senku. Kanzaki-san repeatedly uses Senku in quick succession to attack multiple times."

"I am only able to do up to five strikes like that. Gosen is what I am currently calling it."

"It's really amazing seeing it up close like that. You worked really hard to use it, huh?"

Kanzaki gave a simple nod.

Kanzaki was use to using Battōjutsu in her real body with a heavier sword, so getting the timing and speed right for Senku wasn't an issue for her. The issue was quickly pulling in and out the sword quick enough to attack while being attacked by opponents.

She had been facing off against other skilled agents in order to quicker her sword-drawing skill during a fight that didn't give her much time. Shooters, Attackers, All-Rounders. She faced off against them all in order to better perfect Gosen to the point of where it is at currently.

It was a difficult thing to do, but she manged it. Now she could see the fruits of her labor from the praise she had just received.

"Alright. I apologize for taking your time like that. I will be going now."

Kanzaki turned around and started to take her leave.

From behind her she could hear Oshiro called out to her.

"Kanzaki-san, let's have another match some time!"

* * *

Kanzaki Sukuu considered herself a Yamato Nadeshiko. She felt that she was a very good woman that could only be surpassed by the seemingly perfect Takaoto Mei. The way she walked, the way she talked, even the way she stood was all something a lot of girls could be jealous at.

One of the woman who could never be jealous of her was walking next to her, grin in place and arms wrapped around her body.

"That was an entertaining match. I really didn't expect you to use Gosen on Hogo-kun like that. I suppose that was just another test for you, right?"

"When did you start watching our match, Kako-san?"

Kako Nozomi. She was the captain of the A-Rank Kako Squad, as well as a skilled Shooter. She was a mature-looking woman with a mole under her lip. She was rather fond of the Yamato Nadeshiko and would often have a talk with her.

Kanzaki was fine with the other woman and her laid-back attitude since she knew that Kako could be serious when it came to her assignments.

"I started watching just a little before your first round ended." Kako glanced over at Kanzaki as she continued to speak. "It seems you didn't use your chance to ask him."

"If you're thinking it's because I don't think he's good enough then you're wrong. I just don't feel right about asking him if I could join just yet. It's just a feeling, but I'll follow my feelings to the end."

"How noble. But I'm sure you already figured out that he won't be asking you to join at any point in time. He'll happily let you join if you ask him, but he won't just go around asking people to join his squad."

"I am well aware of that. It's fine though. There's no reason for anything to be rushed. Besides, he already has Misó to deal with. Adding one more person to the mix might mess things up."

"Hm. Well, just remember that there is always a spot on my squad for someone like you. You could quickly become A-Rank and get that nice nodachi you want."

"Thank you for the offer, Kako-san. But as I've told you before, I don't think I would be able to do well within your squad. It's nothing against your squad. I just believe that there is no reason for me to join."

"Suit yourself. The offer is always there though. Feel free to change your mind."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Kako let out a light laugh as the fact that even in casual conversation Kanzaki had a semi-serious expression and tone.

When they had met it wasn't a good greeting since Kako was reminded of one of her former teammates due it the serious nature. As time went on though the two had gotten along, and Kako saw a more girly and soft side of Kanzaki that was far from her former teammate.

Kanzaki had been rather indifferent towards the A-Rank when they met. That hadn't changed even as they got closer to each other. She did start warming up to Kako though once she tasted some of Kako's better cooking.

The two were definitely friends now. Although Kanzaki would get a bit irritated by certain things Kako did and said, but that also showed how close they were.

"On to a different topic. I was wondering if you have noticed Misó acting differently."

"..."

Kanzaki knew what Kako was talking about, but was shocked at how blunt the older woman was now being concerning so etching like that. She got over her shocked and nodded her head with a small hum.

"Yes. He is certainly acting more tame than usual. Although, I had heard that he had cut Hogo's hair when he was sleeping. He ended up actually getting hit by Hogo rather hard. You can still see some if the hit on Misó if you look."

"I heard about that too. But I doubt it was because of something like that. He never seemed affected by anything anyone says or does. He enjoys pain to the point of it being disgusting. He does things so that others hate him. Simply cutting his captain's hair and getting hit for it doesn't seem like something that he would change over."

"I suppose you're right..."

Letting out her own hum, Kako sped up her pace. She could tell that Kanzaki did the same.

"If there is something we wish to know then there are certain places and people that are perfect to ask.

* * *

Takaoto Mei was the semi-perfect Operator of one of the two Tsukiko Squads. She had black hair put in a hime-cut and a sort of glow to her that made it seek like she was shining. Her skin was as smooth as a newborn baby and her general aura was a calming one.

"... She truly is a fearsome person..."

"Oh my~ More guys who don't know when to quite~?"

Mei calm stood in the middle of a circle. The circle wasn't one made of chalk or marker, far from it. The circle was made from the bodies of multiple males who had fallen due to Mei's seeming abnormal strength. Oh. And she was in her real body right now.

Mei turned to Kako and Kanzaki as they walked up to her. She gave a smile to the two as she was careful not to step on any of the fallen males.

"Yeah. I had tried to get them to stop, but they insisted on taking me out for a 'special night'. I think I may have gone a little overboard though."

"I don't see any of them bleed or with twisted limbs. You're in the clear."

Kanzaki could only stare at the bodies of the males not too far off. She herself was more than capable in her real body, but she doubted that even she would be able to handle that many men coming at her.

"Hello there, Kanzaki-san."

"H-hello, Takaoto-dono."

"So, what did you two need to know?"

'We haven't even said anything about needing information...'

This person, who was only a year or so older than Kanzaki herself, seemed to be on a level far above Kanzaki.

While Kanzaki was freaking out about Mei, Kako casually waved her hand as she spoke with her usual laid-back tone.

"We wanted your opinion on Misó. I'm sure you of all people can tell that he has been acting different than usual. We don't care much for him in the first place, but if he changes then that is rather unnerving. He's unpredictable as it so. We don't need any more trouble with him."

Mei nodded her and said nothing.

'One... Two... Three...'

"Alright. I've got around a thousand different scenarios. But since we don't have time for all of that I've narrowed it down to ten possibilities."

'I thought she was just thinking of the possibilities! She was able to do all of that within three second!'

If someone were to see how Kanzaki was acting now compared to her fight with Oshiro, they would think she was a completely different girl. A bit of sweat could be seen coming down her face as she continued to be in awe by Mei.

She had met Mei a few times, but was more distracted by people like Misaki Suzumebachi and Toby Awdry to pay much attention to the Operator. Now that there was nothing distracting her, Kanzaki could see just how intimidating Mei could really be. Kako had told her many things about Mei, but all if that seemed like an understatement now that she stood in front of the girl.

"Kanzaki-san, I am just another regular girl. There's no need to be intimidated by me. If you would like, we could discuss this with a few others around."

Kanzaki swore that Mei wasn't human at this point.

'Is she reading my mind!? No, no, no! Kako-San had said that Takaoto-dono _did_ have a Side Effect, but it wasn't reading minds or the future. She said it was...'

"Sigh. We call my Side Effect Supercomputer. It's much more bothersome than you would think."

Once she thought about it more, Kako wasn't so sure that having the two meet like this was a good idea. Normally people wouldn't get like this when first meeting Mei, but she knew that Kanzaki was rather observant and keen when it came to others.

'Having her meet someone like Mei much have really gotten to her.'

Mei was not clueless or oblivious, she knew anything and everything going on rigtu now with Kanzaki. Nothing could get passed her at this point. She had been teasing the younger girl, but that seemed to be a bad decision on her part.

Kanzaki only stared at Mei now. There was something going on in her head. This something could change things up. It wouldn't effect anyone but Kanzaki, but that's all she need.

Kanzaki quickly lowered her body in a perfect 90 degree angle and yelled out,

"Takaoto-dono! Please be my mentor!"

.

Mei turned to Kako with a blank expression.

She knew she had heard Kanzaki just fine. The issue was that she wouldn't ask for something like that unless someone had told her about too many things.

Kako seemed to be thinking the same thing as she turned her head and whistled an innocent tune.

"Kako-san. How much did you tell her?"

"I _maaaaaaay_ have told her...aournd... Well, let's just say she knows who Fuji is."

Kako Nozomi, captain of the A-Rank Kako Squad, had told someone else a secret Mei had planned to keep a secret for as long as she could. It may have been accidental, but it was still out.

Thinking that the worse was coming, Kako got ready for a hit that was far stronger than the ones given to the fallen males.

"Sigh..."

Instead she got a sigh.

"Huh?"

Mei turned to Kanzaki, looking as calm as ever.

"I'm sorry, Kanzaki, but I'm a simple Operator now. I don't really plan on doing anything else. I can't be your mentor. Although that isn't to say that I won't give advice if you ask for it."

"Y-yes! Thank you very much!"

"Oh. And no need to be so formal. You can just call me Mei."

"Right. Mei...dono."

Kako let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. She really thought she was a goner.

"Oh. And Kako-san. Don't think you're off the hook."

Kako gave a smile. This smile was a smile of someone who had repented of their sins and was ready for their end. It was the smile that one would give as their beautiful life flashed before their eyes as death came.

"Right."

"Good. Now then. Shall we get back on topic?"

* * *

 **The latter part of this chapter was just some random thing I came up with. Sorry.**


	10. Misó Epanástasi: Part 2

**Chapter 10:** Misó Epanástasi: Part 2

* * *

It was the day right after a big incident.

That would be the only mention of the incident at the moment, but thanks to that incident Hogo Oshiro was now living with his "older brother", and of course Krümel.

"Shiro, hope you're up!"

"Right, right!"

Oshiro rushed out to meet up with the person he was now living with with his bag over his shoulder and Krümel in his arms. Said person was a male a few inches shorter than Oshiro. He had on a school uniform that was different than Oshiro's. His general appearance was that of an average male student, but what stood out about him was the fact one of his eyes was covered by hair. This was Tsukiko Yuki.

If someone saw the two they would likely suspecting the two were brothers with Oshiro being the older and rebellious one while Yuki took on the role of the younger, tamed one.

Oh how wrong they would be.

Not only was Yuki older than Oshiro, he also have a more "free" vibe to him than Oshiro's tamed and calming one. The two were similar in many ways, but were different in many, many more ways.

"Why did you take so long? Weren't you the one who said that it would he best if Krümel went to play with Taka?"

"Yes. I'm sorry. He was a bit reluctant to go. I ended up bribing him with a treat or two."

Yuki looked down at the small puppy in Oshiro's arms and saw some crumbs still on his mouth. He said no more on the subject, deciding that they should just leave.

.

Once outside, Yuki let out a small sigh before looking up at his "little brother" and furrowed his brows.

"Unfair..."

"Huh?"

"It's unfair that you're that tall. How can you be taller than me? Even Kou is roughly the same height as me. It's so unfair~"

"Ah ha ha ha... I'm sorry?"

Seeing his "older brother" looking down by this realization, Oshiro tried to sooth Yuki.

It actually had the opposite effect.

"Well... At least you still have time to grow."

"So do you. You're younger than me."

It was hard to tell if it was Yuki's talking or Oshiro accidentally increasing his strength, but Krümel jumped from Oshiro's arms and ended up running away from the two. The dog had been use to Yuki already, but that didn't mean he didn't scare rather easily.

"Ah! Krümel-kun!"

The two humans quickly went after the dog. It had been told that, when scared, Krümel had the ability to run twice as fast as any ordinary dog.

They didn't have to go far though as Krümel had ran into someone's feet.

Looking up, the small pup started to shake a bit before turning around and running right back into Oshiro's arms. It took another treat to calm the pup down enough to stop his shaking.

"Hm? Oh. Sorry. Did I scare the pup?"

Yuki and Oshiro looked ahead to see a familiar man looking at them while giving Krümel an apologetic look.

The man had red hair with the front being gray, light blue eyes and light skin with good muscle tone. He wore a black undershirt, high-collared blue shirt and a dark red coat reaching to his knees. On his lower half he had on dark cargo pants, and dirty-looking shoes.

"Oh. Hello, Ketsu-san."

"Good morning, Ketsu-san."

"Hello you two. Were you on your way to Tamakoma right now?"

"Yes. We figured Minoru would leave Taka there, and so decided that leaving Krümel there so the two could play would be a good thing. Besides, they seem to think Raijinmaru is some kind of moving pillow."

"I've noticed that. It actually quite entertaining."

Kagerei Ketsueki was a 20-year-old Border member that resided in the Tamakoma branch office. He was unique in his fighting, yet didn't fight as much as some would think.

This man was someone the two knew quite well. He was a member of the Tamakoma Branch that would just take his leave whenever he felt like to go off and have a "Mythological Discovery Adventure". He did bring back souvenirs though.

"Well I'd be more than happy to take cute little pup with me~"

Oh yeah. He also loved dogs.

"Really? Thank you!"

"I don't get why you live over here instead of by, or in, the branch office. It wouldn't be that long of a walk."

"He _lives_ over here? I just thought Ketsu-san got up early for a walk."

"Yeah. He walks from his house to the Tamakoma branch. He says he needs the exercise, but he's already as healthy and buff as Reiji-san. He's adding insult to injury by basically saying 'Hey, look how fit I am! Why not go on a ten mile jog with me so we can all be super fit and healthy! Eyeaaaaaaaahhhhh!' It's very messed up."

"No, no! I don't mean anything like that! I truly think I need the exercise! I need it to keep up with Rei-san and Atsushi-kun!"

"And now he's bringing the two muscle-heads into this... Sigh. Next thing you know he's gonna start saying that they will 'baptize Arafune in muscles'."

Oshiro really didn't know what to say, so he said nothing and continued to pet Krümel. He knew that Yumi could get a bit jealous when it came to other people's bodies. His own body wasn't in such good shape due to a certain incident in the past, so he envied those with such great muscle tone.

Oshiro did feel sorry for his surrogate brother, but knew that something like that wouldn't really get him down much.

'I wonder what Haru-san would look like of he was 'baptized in muscles'...'

Staring off into space, Oshiro pictured his boyfriend with large muscles and quickly felt his face get hotter. Others would have sworn something had broke in his head, and that smoke was coming from his ears.

As he thought more and more about Inukai, Oshiro started to get even hotter. With each new thought that appeared an other layer of clothing seemed to come off from the Inukai in his head.

'I-I-I l-love H-Haru-san just the way he is... No amount of muscle tone will change my mind!'

The fact he stuttered in his own mind was not a good thing.

Yuki and Ketsueki looked over at the youngest one as he shook his head before clenching his fists in determination. They really weren't sure if they wanted to know what was currently going on in his mind.

"Yuki!"

"Hogo."

Hearing their names being called, Yuki and Oshiro looked in two different directions to see their friends calling out to them.

Oshiro was extremely happy that someone had called out to him. He wasn't sure how long he would have been able to hold out until he went beyond the point of return.

Murakami and Kageura stood on one road while Narasaka was on the other.

"Ah. We've got to get going. Please take care of Krümel-kun, Ketsu-san."

Oshiro bowed as he handed the pup over to Ketsueki. He gave a small wave to the dog before running off to his friends.

Yuki gave a small wave at the dog and dog lover before walking over to his own friends and seeming to get yelled at by Kageura.

"Well, looks like it's just us," Ketsueki said as he looked down at the dog in his arms. "Why don't we go see Taka and the others?"

Krümel gave a happy bark as the two went off.

* * *

"... Hogo-senpai, are you okay?"

Narasaka glanced to the side to see Kodera looking at Oshiro with a worried look. He had noticed that Oshiro was acting a bit odd as well, but figured it wasn't much to think about since Oshiro would get like that over some of the smallest things.

Kodera on the other hand had been worried about his upperclassman since he seemed to just be staring into space with a frown for a few minutes now. Usually Oshiro would be kind and start up a conversation with Kodera, but that wasn't happening today.

"Hm...? Oh. I'm fine, Shōhei-kun. I was just thinking about..."

"About?"

"About..."

 **BAM!**

"About how terrible I am as a captain!"

Kodera jumped when Oshiro slammed his body onto the ground.

Narasaka just rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath.

Oshiro started speaking rapidly as tears streamed down his face.

Kodera wasn't sure what to do at this point. He had helped out Oshiro before when he was like this, but it seemed that the older male was just listening to himself talk instead of Kodera trying to sooth him.

Narasaka was much more use to this stuff than Kodera was. That didn't mean he could just let Oshiro continually slam his head into the ground like he was though. No, Narasaka was nice and put some sort of cushion there for his friend.

When he could at least.

"H-Hogo-senpai! It's fine! You aren't a terrible captain!"

"Let me guess. It was Misó again."

Oshiro looked up and nodded his head as some snot could be seen running down his nose.

"Sigh... What happened this time?"

"Well, it happened two days after Border's enlistment day..."

* * *

 _"To your grave I spoke~ Holding a red, red rose~"_

 _"Misó, what the heck are you saying now?"_

 _Misó looked over from his spot on one of the sofas in Hogo Squad's operating room. He had earbuds in both ears and was looking rather bored. That's what kept the other three in the room on guard._

 _Misó let out a long and drawn out sigh as he rolled over, landing on the ground with a thud. He continued to roll until he reached the door of the room. He stood up and put a hand on the door._

 _"I'm gonna go out~ Don't worry though~ I'll be back in time for defense duty~"_

 _"Actually, Kirai-kun... I want you to stay in here until we have to go."_

 _"Hey, I made sure to stay in here during the enlistment for the C-Ranks. Let me have some fun again. I'm just gonna go have some fun near the top levels of the base."_

 _"That's even worse. Listen to your captain and stay in here."_

 _Misó's grip on the doorknob increased for a brief second. He let go of the doorknob and turned around with a large smile on his face._

 _"Don't worry~ Don't worry~ I was just gonna jump from the roof and see how much it would hurt~ Oh~ But of course I mean in my Trion body~ That way I can feel the pain while also surviving! No need to worry~ No need to worry~"_

 _Oshiro got up from his spot on the chair near the sofas and made his way over to Misó. He was careful to keep a good distance from Misó, but was still close enough to do something._

 _Hitsugi and Kimura also made sure that they would be able to do something if Misó tried anything. They would simply pin him down and wait until he calmed down. They didn't want to see their captain get hurt, so they remained alert._

 _"Kirai-kun, let's just rest before defense duty. Afterwards I'll even take us out to get something to eat."_

 _"..."_

 _ **THUD!**_

 _Oshiro flinched when his back was met with the door to the operating room._

 _Misó had quickly grabbed Oshiro and slammed him against the door. He made sure to have a tight grip on his captain's wrist as he held his arm above his head._

 _"Captain, I thought you were fine with us doing what he wanted? If you're trying to keep me caged in any longer than I'll just have to go to drastic measures. Is that fine with you? I have no problem destroying a few things again."_

* * *

"After that he left we didn't see him for the rest of the day. He skipped out on defense duty. Although the others weren't particularly complaining about it."

Narasaka clicked his tongue. Misó was one of the few people he really hated with a passion. The other being a certain female sniper.

"Why is that guy even still in Border? I'm pretty sure he causes more casualties than any Neighbor we've fought."

"That may be but... When it comes to taking out those Neighbors, he's actual quite skilled. I'm pretty sure he is still in Border because of his skills."

"That still doesn't justify all the things he does. How he isn't in jail is also a mystery."

Times like these were rather rare when it came to Narasaka. The only times he was like this was when he was talking about his most hated people. Even then he got more upset when it came to Misó than when it was about the certain female Sniper.

Deciding it was better to switch topics, Oshiro started talking about something else.

* * *

A boy was taking a nap in the cafeteria after the lunch break was over and everyone should have left. This was rather suspicious since this boy didn't attend any school once arriving in Japan.

"Hey. Hey you. You're fairly conspicuous there."

A male teacher who had happened by yelled at him, but the boy wearing a white short-sleeved shirt did not respond. He had lined up 3 or 4 of the cafeteria chairs and was lying sprawled out on top of them.

Once he had confirmed that the teacher wasn't going to just leave, the boy finally drowsily turned his gaze towards him.

"...The infirmary beds are the best, but you get kicked out of there right away."

"You're taking the life of a student lightly, aren't you?"

"No, not at all. In fact, I love this life."

"Yes, you probably are enjoying what you're doing, but the life of a student isn't one of pure enjoyment. What year are you and what class are you in? I'm going to go call your homeroom tea-"

The male teacher's words were cut off by his phone ringing. He looked annoyed and hit the talk button, but his back straightened at the first word he heard.

"Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I will check on it immediately," he said politely and then hung up.

The boy spoke in an uninterested fashion with his expression still one of drowsiness.

"It seems you have some urgent business."

"Damn it. I'll be calling in another teacher to deal with you. Someone'll be here right away!"

The male teacher left the cafeteria sounding like he had lost but was unwilling to admit it. When the boy told him not to run in the hallway, he received a shout of anger in response.

'Looks like he was at his wit's end. Heh~ So this is what being a student is like over here~'

The boy checked that no one was in the cafeteria and then reached up to the handheld terminal on the table while still lying in the chairs.

The line was already connected.

The boy yawned slightly and spoke towards the terminal.

"Let's get started, old man."

 _"Get what started?"_

"Our dangerous conversation."

The boy's name was Misó Epanástasi.

And the old man on the other end of the handheld terminal was Tenryū Seido.

"I hear things have been getting noisy 'outside' recently," he said, getting down to business.

 _"As usual, it's a complete mystery where you get your information from. ...I assume you're talking about the Neighbor countries that are close by our own?"_

"You should be glad that your 'brain' is so excellent."

 _"Yes, well you ruin it by digressing so much."_ Seido sighed in a manner that he would never show others and continued. _"What are your thoughts?"_

"We should leave it be. They can't do anything we aren't ready for."

 _"...Do you really think there's an idiot out there who would accept that kind of talk?"_

"Sigh. You're quite the petit bourgeois, aren't you?" Misó tapped his temple with his fingers while still lying on the chairs. "You aren't one to care about things that don't particularly concern you. The plan you want to set into motion doesn't rely on attacks from Neighbors. Whether Mikado City is attacked or not doesn't really effect you in any way, right? I suppose they would be more careful, but that would work out better for you, right?"

 _"Things like that aren't that easy."_

"Regardless, it's easy to make things work with information."

As Misó spoke, he reached up to a convenience store bag sitting on the table. In it was a dessert-like sandwich with whipped cream and fruit in it.

"Fine, then. I'll think about this seriously."

 _"Don't speak with food in your mouth."_

"About those countries," continued Misó lying down with his mouth full of sandwich. "It's true that I have heard this and that about which countries will be nearing our orbit withing certain times. Because of this, the directors are getting ready to create any defensises against any attacks. That being said, I'm sure you're smart enough to not get anywhere near this city while things go on as they are."

 _"...If you knew that, how did you end up with 'We should leave it be. They can't do anything.'?"_

"I'm not finished," said Misó bluntly. "Am I correct in assuming that what you're after is a Black Trigger that is currently split in three and not just one single thing?"

 _"Yes."_

"And what you are really worried about are the ones who know of the existence of that Black Trigger that would go about trying to stop you?"

 _"Yes."_

"Then it isn't a problem. Right now, Liberi, Leoforio, Kion and Aftokrator are the ones most likely to make a move. Heh heh. If all four were to attack then we'd have a pretty fun time going at it. However, they can't all attack at the same time. Only the one with the most amount of Black Triggers would bother attacking, since they have a higher chance of succeeding."

 _"How can you be so sure?"_ a slightly puzzled Seido asked.

"Because, they will most likely assume that Mikado City only has two Black Triggers when in reality they have four."

 _"And which would you say is more noteworthy?"_

"Not sure. A Black Trigger's use it up to the user. Yūichi using Fujin is dangerous, but Shūji using Fujin is less dangerous. It all depends on the one who has it first."

Misó could hear Seido let out a sigh from the other end, but he didn't care.

"Anyways. This is the last time you'll be hearing from me. And if you don't mind, I'm gonna get going."

 _"I can only guess what for."_

"That's easy. I wanna get rid of my emotions when I'm using my Trigger."

 _"Isn't that more idiotic? Border has done a test before where they took the emotions away from the agents. Those same agents did worse without their emotions than with them."_

"Are _you_ really telling me what happened in the past? Heh~ I know the past and the present. Nah~ I'm gonna get rid of my emotions so that I can properly focus on crushing the enemy and leave nothing left."

A click could be heard. Misó now had no one to talk to. He just sat there in the cafeteria of a school he didn't even belong to.

He sat there with a rather sinister grin in place.

* * *

The date was Januray 15th.

It was five days before Mikado City's Border would have to defend their city from a strong opposing force.

One person saw that future.

Another person calculated that future.

A third person would make that future happen.


	11. Invasion

**Chapter 11:** Invasion

* * *

January 20th.

That was when it happened.

One hasn't happened since around four year ago, but they expected it.

They prepared for it.

One of them had seen it.

Another one had calculated it.

A third one made sure it happened.

* * *

 **Warning: A Gate is opening. Large-scale outbreak of Gates confirmed. Anyone in the vicinity of the Emergence Area, please evacuate at once.**

* * *

"There are... 38... 39... 40 Gates! And counting!"

"Squads on duty deploy according to their Operators' instructions! Destroy all Trion soldiers! Don't let a single one outside the emergence area! Tell all off-duty agents! Every agent to the front to counter the threat! Battle commence!"

* * *

Kimura was already in her seat when she heard the alarms going off. She had been let out of school to work on some things for Border, so it was easy for her to be ready for the attack on the city.

"Everyone is close by each other. You all make sure to get to each other quickly."

 _"Why do I feel like you're directing that towards me, Kawa-tan~"_

"Because you of all people will probably ditch just to see how things turn out in the end."

 _"Hey~ I dooooo care about the city though~ I feel quite offended that you would say such a thing to keep of all people~"_

 _"Both of you need to be quite! Misó, hurry up and don't lag! Captain, I'm meeting up with you in a minute or two!"_

 _"Right. Kawa-chan, we're relying on you to tell us where to go."_

With that, the line went quiet.

Kimura nodded to herself as she looked at the screen in front of her.

She wished she could be out there and help them out, but she knew this is what she could do to help them now. If it helped in any way then it was fine with her.

"We will make it through this!"

* * *

Takaoto Mei let out a sigh when she stopped from her walk through the park as she saw the Gates open up and Neighbors coming through by the dozens. None of that seemed to affect her though as she simply stood there with her phone to her ear.

"Yeah, I know. It's pretty hard _not_ to hear."

 _"Well, I guess Tora-san was right. You're gonna have to make your way to the base."_

"I guess so... Oh well. I might as well get rid of the ones in front of me first. I'm just glad there's no one around right now."

 _"I just got the orders from HQ, so I'll be fighting for a while. Try not to cause_ too much _collateral, okay?"_

"Can't promise anything. Anyways, even if you aren't given a 'playground' you should still go all out so you don't end up having to Bail Out."

 _"I know. Same goes for you. Good luck."_

With that, the line went dead.

Mei let out another sigh as she put her phone away and pulled something out of her pocket.

She didn't really want to fight at the moment, but knew she would have to make it past the horde of Trion Soldiers before she could make it to the Headquaters.

"Well...I might as well get start."

The soldiers started charging at her, but she didn't seem to mind and simply lifted her arm.

"Trigger on."

* * *

"We shall now see what will happen. How will things turn out? Will Border be victorious or will the Neighbors? This will provide me with a good amount of information. I just need to wait everything out until it's all over."

Misó looked around at all the Gates opening up.

He had been eating for this moment. The moment where he would see a large-scale invasion that could get things going for him.

He saw a large amount of Trion soldiers going straight towards him. He brought out two blades and got ready for the long fight ahead of them all.

* * *

"Sensei, we just got orders from HQ, so we need you and the C-Ranks to help evacuate everyone else out of here. There are some headed this way, so we'll take care of them whole we go meet up with the rest of our squad."

Kotowari Takeshi stood with the other agents at the school. The school had to evacuate due to the current invasion, so the agents that were there quickly got to work.

"Sure thing. Just leave it to us. It's our job after all."

Takeshi nodded his head and turned around to leave, but was surprised when multiple Neighbors fell from the sky. There were multiple Marmods and Bados.

"There... There are so many of them!"

Inushiba, a rather pudgy student, along with most of the students, started sweating when they saw the Neighbors slowly making their way towards the ground.

"There's no way you lot can take on that many!"

"Just shut up and go."

Toby Awdry, a B-Rank Attacker shook his head as he turned to two other people. One was a boy with goggles while another was a girl with blond hair. Those two were Noah Shor - captain of Shor Squad - and Shana Lee of another Tsukiko Squad.

"Hey, you two better go and meet up with your squads. We B-Ranks aren't suppose to fight if we can't meet up with our squads, so you two need to go now. If me and Take are here then we should be fine to fight. Not to mention Shun is with us."

"Right. We'll leave these ones to you."

Noah and Shana quickly made their way through the Trion soldiers and towards the direction of their respective squads.

No wasting any more time, the two B-Ranks and single A-Rank quickly got to work while the C-Ranks and civilians started evacuating.

Midorikawa Shun and Toby Awdry ran forward with a Scorpion in hand. They both took on the same one and made quick work of it by slashing at it until it was down. They then split up to take on other ones.

Takeshi stood in place and put his hands in his pocket as three green orbs appeared by his head. He looked up and each orb shot out three green beams towards the flying ones. He managed to destroy some of them, but other dodged the attacks.

The ones who dodged the beams were being chased by the same beams and ended up colliding with each other, making them a big enough target for Takeshi to take down.

He took a sideways glance to see that a few Marmods were heading towards him, so he lowered the beams in the sky to one per orb before making a new orb that shot out three beams, destroying the oncoming Neighbors.

Meanwhile, Toby stood on a fallen Marmod while he looked around to see more coming his way. He put away the Scorpion in his hand and let out a sigh.

Multiple Scorpions sprang from his body and covered him.

He ran forward and moved his feet so he was spinning rapidly.

The Marmods were slashed up as soon as they came in contact with him. Some tried to back away, but he quickly headed for them and took them out.

Midorikawa took out his share of Marmods using his Scorpion and Grasshopper. He ended them quickly by going for their cores and moving from one to the other in a matter of seconds.

* * *

"The Trion soldiers have split into groups. They're heading into the city from all directions. They appear to be headed... west, northwest, east, south and southwest away from us!"

Sawamura Kyoko reported everything in a calm tone as everyone in the room saw the dots appearing on the screen.

They had prepared for this invasion and would retaliate in the appropriate manner. They wouldn't leg themselves be trampled over by their opponents.

"Split the squads into three groups. Send them east, south and southwest!"

"W-wait a second, Director! What about the west and northwest!?"

"Don't worry. We've got that covered. _Jin and Amo are headed there._ "

Director Shinoda Masafumi spoke with no worry or doubt. He focused on what needed to be done at the moment and nothing else.

The PR director seemed to take this well as he calmed down a bit.

They all knew that those two would be enough to take out whatever got in their way.

"The other fronts are the problem. We can't let the rest of the Neighbors enter the city before our squads catch up. Kinuta-san?"

"I know. I worked with Fuyushima to make a plan."

* * *

In multiple areas, explosive shots were fired and large blades spung up from the ground.

The Trion soldiers that walked on the ground were quickly destroyed by these attacks. Some were able to move out of the way of the large blades while others seemed to keep moving regardless of the shots being fired.

That was fine though.

After all...

 _"Suwa Squad has arrived! We'll eliminate the Neighbors!"_

 _"Suzunari-1 here! Combat initiated!"_

 _"Azuma Squad has arrived. Commencing attack."_

* * *

"Kazama, Arashiyama, Hatohara squads... Arafune, Kakizaki, Chano squads... All heading to their targets while eliminating Trion soldiers!"

"Good. Have them join up! They'll work together to defend the city."

"Wait... Oh... Takaoto Mei is heading to the base while taking out large amounts of Trion soldiers! Tsukiko Yuki seems to have made his own 'playground' and is also taking out a good amount of Trion soldier!"

"Those two... Fine. We'll leave those two be, for now. Once Yuki meets up with his squad they will also join up with the others."

* * *

"..."

Misó Epanástasi was crouched down in front of a fallen Bambster with a dull expression. He moved his hand across the shell of the Trion soldier before pulling put a piece of paper and placing it in one of the small cracks he himself had made.

"Hey, Misó. What are you doing!?"

The one who yelled at him was his teammate, Teikō Hitsugi. She and their captain walked up to the male as he stood up.

Misó turned to his teammates with a grin in place.

"Ah~ Sorry~ I just wanted to see something. We usually just leave things to HQ when it comes to these things, so I wanted to really check some of these out before we moved on."

"We don't have time for-"

"Hitsu-chan, it's fine. Kirai-kun is just curious, so we can give him a minute or two."

Oshiro gave a kind smile to his squad.

Hitsugi huffed and crossed her arms while Misó continued to grin.

He looked around a bit more at different ones while placing the same pieces of paper at the different hole that were made.

He stood straight up and looked over to his squad, Oshiro was continuing to smile while Hitsugi just let out another huff. It seemed that the two didn't notice what he was doing, which was exactly what he had wanted.

"This really isn't the time for this crap. We need to hurry up and get to the next area. We're in the middle of an invasion."

 _"She's right. And our captain doesn't seem like he can wait any longer."_

Misó and Hitsugi looked over to see Oshiro looking around with a large of concern on his face. They both knew he couldn't stand not helping others out, so it really was best to leave right now.

"Alright, alright. Let's get going then."

* * *

On the battlefield with Azuma Squad...

The final Trion soldier in the area fell to the ground as Koarai jumped to the ground. They had all done what they needed to. Now they just had to go to the other squad and group up.

"Azuma-san, that was the last one," Koarai said as he turned to his captain.

"Okay. We'll go assist the other squads."

 **KRAKL**

Hearing the odd noise, Azuma turned around.

The shell of the Bambster near the squad started to crack open. A large, white arm could be seen coming out as another followed and grabbed the bottom of the shell.

"...!?"

Once the something came out of the fallen Bambster the squad could see exactly what it was.

"What's that?"

There, standing in front of Azuma Squad, was a Trion soldier that had a bulky build, with wide shoulders and long, large arms with three fingers and no thumbs, and also short but thick legs which ended on long two-toed feet. It had a long neck ending in a head roughly resembling a rabbit head. The interior of its mouth was black and it had a green eye inside. It also had black stripes running through its shoulders until its hands, with black shield-like shapes in the sides of its shoulders, and the sides of its torso are also black. It also has a lizard-like tail.

The whole squad was quick to put up their guard and prepare for an attack.

"Is it a Trion soldier!? I've never seen one like it before."

Loud sounds could be heard coming from the distance.

Azuma took notice of this.

"We can't just stare at each other like this. We're too close..."

"Azuma-san, to fight the other! We'll take this-..."

"Okudera!"

"!"

Okudera quickly turned around and jumped back just in time to dodge a punch from this new Trion soldier. He couldn't do much though as the same arm came back and swatted Okudera away like an insect.

Okudera flew threw multiple buildings, destroying each one, before finally stopping once he didn't have enough force to his forced flight.

"Okudera! Respond!"

 _"I... I'm fine... I think.."_

Koarai didn't take kindly to seeing his teammate get send flying and jumped up with his sword ready to strike.

"Koarai, don't! It wants us to split up! Wait until Okudera comes back!"

It was too late though.

This new Trion soldier that had swatted Okudera away like a bug grabbed Koarai before his attack could connect, it smashed him into the nearby wall afterwards.

"Let go, you...!"

Koarai tried to free himself by stabbing into the new Trion soldier.

It grabbed his arms.

As easily as taking apart a plastic doll, the new Trion soldier pulled with little effort and ripped Koarai's arms off.

The new Trion soldier's chest opened up with six insect leg-like tentacles folded out and circle around its newly captured prey.

"Koarai!"

Azuma brought up his gun and fired a shot from the most powerful Sniper rifle - the Ibis.

It had no effect when the new Trion soldier soldier brought up its arm to block.

"AAAAAHHH! AZUMA-SAN!"

Thinking quickly, Azuma lifted his Ibis once again. This time, however, instead of aiming at the new Trion soldier, he aimed at his own teammate and fired.

 **Trion body limit exceeded. Bail Out.**

Koarai quickly turned into light before flying off towards the Border base and landing on the mat in Azuma Squad's room.

Azuma kept his rifle up in order to defend himself. He started to speak while keeping an eye on the new Trion soldier.

"Shinoda-san, Azuma here! We've encountered a new type of Trion soldier! It's over three meters tall. A bipedal humanoid. Small, but powerful! It's trying to capture out agents. Everyone take caution. Over."

* * *

It didn't take too long for the agents at a certain school to end it.

Kotowari Takeshi, Toby Awdry and Midorikawa Shun had taken out the Trion so,doers that had surrounded their school. It wasn't too hard for them, but they had to use Trion that could have been better spend.

They gathered together as orders came in.

"So there's a new model, huh? Sounds interesting," Midorikawa said as he looked around. "Looks like we need to regroup to take them all out."

"Go on ahead, Shun," Toby said with a small sigh.

"We'll go see how the evacuation is going. After that we'll regroup as told. You need to go and get together with other A-Ranks."

Takeshi looked around with a careful eye, but still didn't find anything. Three green orbs floated around his head like guards protecting an important person.

"Alright. You two try not to get beat by those new models."

With that, Midorikawa took his leave with a wave.

"That mutt. Who does he think we are?" Takeshi got a thoughtful expression on his face as he put a hand on his chin. "But they did manage to take out someone from the Azuma Squad, and Azuma-san himself is saying to be cautious... They must be dangerous then..."

"Ah, don't worry about, Take! We're different from other squads."

Toby patted Takeshi on the back, yet he also felt a little worried about what could happen.

"When we regroup with Yuki and Suzume we'll help out around, so no need to worry."

"Don't forget, Yuki-senpai is an A-Rank now. He won't be helping us out as he wants."

"Oh, whatever. We can still handle-"

 **KRAKL**

The two froze for a second before slowly turning around. That's when they saw a bipedal creature with features different from anything they had seen before. It was a Trion soldier that had a bulky build, with wide shoulders and long, large arms with three fingers and no thumbs, and also short but thick legs which end on long two-toed feet. It had a long neck ending in a head roughly resembling a rabbit head. The interior of its mouth was black and it had a green eye inside. It also had black stripes running through its shoulders until its hands, with black shield-like shapes in the sides of its shoulders, and the sides of its torso are also black. It also has a lizard-like tail.

Then could easily tell that it was the new model they were told about and got ready to fight.

Takeshi shot out five beams while Toby ran forward with Scorpions covering his body.

The new model dodged the beams and rushed at Toby. It landed a punch on the brunet and didn't seem fazed by the blades. It quickly rushed at Takeshi, ready for another strike.

Takeshi took one of his hands out his pocket and out it in front of himself. Another orb appeared, but this one just stayed in one place. He jumped back just as the New Model came in contact with the orb.

The orb exploded and caught the new model in it, yet even that didn't seem to effect it much as it continued towards Takeshi.

Seeing the attack coming, he quickly teleported behind the new model as it passed by where he was.

He let out more beams as Toby came up from the side with a single Scorpion in his hand.

The new model blocked the attack from Toby and brought up both it's arms to block the beams.

It started moving forward while blocking the beams.

When it felt that the beams were starting to break it apart, it moved to the side, letting the beams hit the building.

Toby managed to teleport to its underside and land a slash on its stomach area before being slammed to the ground the one of its arms. He didn't have time to get up as it grabbed him by the head with a tight grip.

He couldn't see, so he couldn't use Teleport.

The new model's mid-section opened up and six insect leg-like tentacles came out and went for Toby.

"Crap!"

Takeshi shot out more beams, but they were just deflected by the New Model as it continued what it was doing.

 **BANG! BANG! BANG!**

"!?"

Takeshi went a little wide eyed when he saw the new model let go of Toby and jump away so it didn't get its eye destroyed by some shots. He ran over to check on Toby before looking over to see a girl standing there with her legs shaking and a pistol in her hand.

The girl was their age with black hair. Her overal appearance was that of a princess from a fairy tale. Even as she wore the standard C-Rank uniform she looked rather beautiful. She was Taiyōko Hoshi.

The new model changed his target from the two B-Ranks to the C-Rank who seemed too scared to move at the moment. It charged at her while dodging the beams Takeshi had shot out.

"Taiyōko, move!"

"Trigger on!"

Someone came down from above and tried to land a hit on the new model, but it blocked the attack.

The person jumped back and stood in front of Hoshi.

"...Sensei..."

A man stood there with a Kōgetsu in his hand. His attire was a gray track suit with white and black lining. This older-lookin man was the teacher of Takeshi, Toby and Hoshi - Akasora Chishi.

"I know I said I would help out with the evacuation but Taiyōko here decided to come and help you two out. Not to mention you two were seeming to have a hard time."

The look in his eyes turned hard and he looked at the New Model. This seemed to have a great effect as the New Model took a step back.

"It's a teacher's job to help and protect his students, so I hope you don't mind if I joined in the fight for a little bit, Masafumi."

 _"Not at all. I just hope you didn't get rusty."_

"So insulting. Oh well."

Akasora started to walk forward while the new model found its new target and started running towards Akasora.

"Senku Kōgetsu."

The two got closer to each other.

Akasora continued to walk forward.

In a single instant, that none of the students could actually see, the new model was sliced into five pieces. Its arms were at its side, its legs were under it and its head and mid-section lay on the ground.

Akasora stopped walking and looked down at the new model.

"Don't go after my students, you damn thing."

Takeshi and Toby just looked at their teacher with wide eyes.

They had never seen him do something like this. His movements were far beyond what they had seen Yuki do. So much so that they weren't able to follow his movements at all.

"Man... Maybe I am getting a little rusty," Akasora said as he moved his arms.

 _"Nicely done, Chishi. You may not be in Border anymore, but I need you to-"_

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Just leave it to me."

Akasora let out a sigh as he turned to his students. He saw they had awestruck expression and let out a sheepish laugh.

"I said I was in Border... Never said I didn't keep a Trigger."

"That was amazing, Sensei. I figured you were strong, but this..."

Takeshi wasn't too sure on what to say, so he just trailed off.

"Like I said, Masafumi and I are good friends. Not to mention that I was the one to train both your captain and Oper... Ah... Opps. Guess I'm not suppose to tell you that... Sorry."

He got a serious look on his face that made the three of them also get serious.

"Taiyōko, you need to get back and help with the evacuation. Kotowari, Awdry, you two should go regroup. If you come across any more of the new model, just run until you meet up with someone else."

"Yes, Sir!"

"Um... Sensei... What are you going to do?" Hoshi asked, looking at her teacher nervously.

"I'm gonna go help out as well. Now let's get going."

* * *

"Looks like this area is clear now..."

Mei looked over the destroyed area with Neighbors here and there with.

"Maybe I did go _a little_ overboard... Oh well."

She stood up from the new model she was crouching on and jumped down before walking away.

"I should go find Yuki before he causes even more damage than me."


	12. Invasion: Part 2

**Chapter 12:** Invasion: Part 2

* * *

Never before seen Trion soldiers. That was what the Border agents were now facing. They didn't look like much, but they had already proven that appearances mean nothing.

 _"Shinoda-san, Azuma here! We've encountered a new type of Trion soldier! It's over three meters tall. A bipedal humanoid. Small, but powerful! It's trying to capture out agents. Everyone take caution. Over."_

"Capture out agents!? All right... Try to hold out until reinforcements arrive!"

 _[Director Shinoda.]_

"!"

The voice of the autonomous Trion soldier named Replica could be heard through the room. It was connected to Border so that it would be able to provide any information to them.

 _[This new type...is probably the capture-type Trion soldier Aftokrator was developing._ _ **The Rabbit**_ _.]_

"Capture-type? Isn't that what the big one is for?"

 _[It has the same purpose, yes. But different targets. The Rabbit...is a Trion soldier used to_ capture Trigger users. _You should assume it acts differently from other Trion soldiers. Even A-Ranks will be eaten if they face it alone.]_

"East of base..." Sawamura started while looking at the screen. "Kazama Squad is engaging the new model! The captain of Suwa Squad has been captured! South of the base... A member of Azuma Squad has Bailed Out! They've met up with Kakizaki Squad to fight the new model! Kuruma and Chano squads have also encountered the new model in the southwest! It's effectively blocking them from stopping the swarm of Trion soldiers! The swarm is breaking out of the emergence area!"

Netsuki started to freak out a bit at hearing this.

"That's not good! Any damage to the city will erode the people's trust in Border..."

"Do you have a reading on Suwa's condition!?"

"We're still picking up a reading on his Trion body. He can't seem to Bail Out though..."

"Good. Kazama Squad will rescue him!"

"Director Shinoda, please-"

 _"Would you like me to make a detour? I have set up a 'small playground' around me, so I can keep things contained."_

The new voice coming through was a familiar one. It belonged to a certain hime-cut Operator with a Side Effect.

Some of the people in the room turned to see a single dot making its way to the base. As it passed by any enemy dots they seemed to disappear.

"..."

 _"Well?"_

"Very well. It's more helpful if you are also out there to help in defeating these new models - Rabits."

* * *

Hogo Squad dodged.

The three agents were now facing a Rabbit. Once they had been at a good distance, the new model came out of one of the fallen Trion soldiers. It hadn't waited and immediately attacked the three.

"These things are so annoying!"

Hitsugi moved her hand horizontally through the air. The cubes of Trion that were around her body flew through the air in multiple directions.

It didn't look like it had much of an effect.

Small cubes of Trion quickly appeared around to take the place of the ones just fired. They moved around her as if they were stars keeping close to a planet due to its gravity.

Misó ran ahead of Hitsugi with two Scorpion blades in hand.

Just as the Rabbit unfolded its arms, Misó was in front of it and ready to strike.

The Rabbit swung its right arm.

Misó reacted in time to duck and jump back to let his captain have a turn.

Oshiro came from above.

In his hand was a Kōgetsu that had a light blue blade, instead of the usual green one. He had gotten a report of what Suwa Squad had tried, and tried not to end up like Hisato. He slashed at a certain part of the Rabbit before moving back and firing off Viper, hitting the same spot he had just cut.

"I've set up the wires! Hitsugi-chan, Kirai-kun, you're good to go!"

"Right!"

The two teammates made their move.

The Rabbit tried to get closer to them, but had no luck. It was stopped the wires it could not see.

Those same wires were used by Hitsugi and Misó. The cubes around Hitsugi like stars weaved through the wires while Misó did the same. From all directions, the Rabbit was bombarded by Viper.

Misó grinned as he used one of the wires as a springboard and went to deliver the finishing blow.

He missed.

The Rabbit lifted its arm to attack him.

Oshiro was going to rush in and help his teammate, but...

"It's lucky I was in the area at the time."

The punch from the Rabbit was stopped. What had stopped it was the end of a trident. What the trident was was a Trigger. Who the Trigger belonged to was a 20-year-old man with red hair with the front being gray, light blue eyes and light skin with good muscle tone. His outfit consisted of a tight bodysuit with a thin vest over it and cargo shorts that's stopped a little under his knee.

"Ketsu-san!"

Ketsueki stood there with his Trigger - Trishula - blocking the attack from the Rabbit.

He gave a quickly look around before he made his move. With one hand, he easily spun Trishula around, pushing the attacking arm back, and using the blades to cut the top of the Rabbit.

He swung his body completely around and used the momentum to slice through the Rabbit with relative ease.

"You three did good. We should go and regroup as instructed."

"Hey, shouldn't you be with the rest of Tamakoma?"

Misó tried to sound indifferent, but all of them could heard a bit of frustration in his tone.

Ketsueki took note of that fact.

"Rei-san and the others will be fine. He and Kyosuke-kun are picking up Kirie-chan right now, so I will be helping out here."

Oshiro and Hitsugi seemed relieved to hear that.

Misó on the other hand...

'Shit... I didn't think this guy would show up...'

* * *

"Whoa now... They can cope with the Rabbits already."

"Well, well, well... It appears progress in Miden has been impressive."

"Feh. These Rabbits are basic models."

"I'm not so sure. They didn't fall for our plan to divide them. They're quite formidable."

This conversation was being held in a Neighbor ship. Seven Neighbors were in the ship and all were watching the invasion occur. Five male and two females in total.

"Should we go, Hairein-sama?" the youngest looking one asked, looking at their leader.

"Not yet. You will go after we ascertain Miden's limits." The leader's expression never changed and kept a calm tone as he continued to watch the footage. "No need to get ahead of ourselves. We still have plenty if eggs. Miden hasn't shown us everything they can do yet. When we sent the Rads, they mobilized several hundred combatants. Considering that scale, we can surmise that many other skilled individuals, besides those in these squads exist."

"Aren't you being a little too paranoid about these Miden Monkeys? Eh, Captain?" another one said. This one had black horns on his head and one of his eyes was black as well.

"Watch your words, Enedora," the youngest one said. "You're talking to our leader."

"Huh? And who do you think _you're_ talking to?"

"Will you two shut up? I'm trying to watch these adorable animals dance around," one of the only two females said as she kept her eyes on the footage. "It really is quite cute."

"You and your fetishes are disturbing, Pyr," Enedora said with a disgusted look.

"Says the heterochromatic freak."

"Watch your tongue, bitch! I'll get rid of you along with that small fry over there!"

"Just because you have a Black Trigger doesn't mean you'll win! I can easily destroy you! That being said, you wouldn't stand a chance against both me and Hyu! And if we add M-"

"This ship won't last long if you three get into a fight," the oldest one in the room said, not actually seeming to mind the three.

"This is so annoying! I'm sick if this cramped space! Come on, Captain! Let me outside! I could kill all of the Miden soldiers by myself!"

"Annihilation aside..." the last male there said, turning from his comrade to his leader, "It _would_ be nice to stretch out legs for a bit. Right, brother? No, _Captain_."

"A little more patience. Everyone's turn will come soon."

"Proceeding to the next stage."

* * *

"Do they have to be so loud during this~? I was trying to sleep~"

A boy, no older than 16, looked around the area he was in. His general appearance and feeling was something akin to a walking corpse.

His "sleeping place" seemed to be an empty building within the Forbidden Zone.

He got up and leisurely made his way out of the building.

Once outside, he looked up when he heard a loud sound.

What he saw was...

* * *

"Bombers are approaching! Fire all cannons!"

Doing as Kinuta commanded, cannons came from a part of the Border base before firing at the large Trion soldier that was headed for them.

An Illgar.

A large, flying Trion soldier that could throw out bombs while also being a large bomb itself. One had been taken out by Kitora before, but that was because she had help, not that she had known at the time.

Now, during this large-scale invasion, multiple Illgars were flying in the sky, ready to bomb the Border base.

"One down! Another one closing in!"

"Brace for impact!"

...

 **BOOOOOOOOOM!**

The agents fighting against the Trion soldiers on the ground could only watch as the large bomber crashed into the base.

But the base still stood.

"Good thing I fortified the wall armor with extra Trion after the training incident the other day," Kinuta said as he got up from under his desk.

"Second wave on its way! Three units!"

"How's the armor holding up!?"

"It'll last for one more impact!"

"Evacuate civilian staff to shelters! Divert Trion interceptor cannons! Focus cannon fire! Aim for a single unit! Make sure it goes down!"

"!? But...one won't be enough..."

The cannon were changed. They were now all facing a single Illgar. They fired without mercy.

The loud sounds of the attack could be heard, as well as the Illgar being destroyed and causing an explosion that didn't reach the base.

"Confirmed, one has been shot down! Two left!"

"Director Shinoda! I can't guarantee the wall will last two hits!"

 _"It's fine. There won't be anymore, right~ Shinoda-san?"_

* * *

A boy, no older than 16, looked around the area he was in. His general appearance and feeling was something akin to a walking corpse.

He looked up in a Trion body. Once he had seen the Illgars attacking the base, he had pulled out his Trigger and entered his Trion body, although complaining the whole time.

"Let's see...according to what I have on them..."

As he muttered to himself, the corpse-like boy looked up to see the cannons from the Border base take out one of the Illgars.

"It's fine. There won't be anymore, right~, Shinoda-san?"

He then witnessed another one quickly get taken out by the #1 of Border.

He let out a small sigh before raising his hand.

"Perform final check. Once it is done, begin output."

As soon as the corpse-like boy muttered those words, his eyes turned from a bored and tired look to a focused look that could put anyone on guard.

His fingertips began emitting a green light. This was his Trion coming out as a type of blade.

"This really is tiring."

As he spoke, the corpse-like boy lightly waved his right hand. Beams of light similar to a blowtorch were emitted from his fingertips. And they grew until they were above the Illgars.

The boy let out a small sigh as he raised his hand before bringing it down as if swatting away an insect.

The blades went down along with his hand and sliced through the remaining Illgar as easy as a hot knife cutting through butter.

The Illgar was now split into five separate parts.

Before he could do anything else, he heard Shinoda's voice coming through.

 _"Both of you! Your target is the new model Trion soldier. Eliminate as many as you can."_

"Sorry, Shinoda-san, but I'm waaaaaaa~~y too tired for this~ Trigger off."

* * *

"Honestly. I need to watch how much Trion I use. I can't be in one fight after another using both Stingers now. I guess it's fine though."

 _"You still going, Suzume?"_

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Just hurry up! Switching back to a Lightning means I need your asses over here pronto!"

 _"Calm down, Senpai."_

Suzume let out a small sigh as she started walking away. She decided it would be better if she met up with her teammates halfway.

 **KRACKL**

She turned to the Trion Soldiers she had just defeated and saw something coming out of one of them.

She squinted her eyes to get a better look and went wide eyed when she saw a Rabbit standing before her.

Not wasting any time, she started to run away. She could hear the Rabbit start chasing after her. She looked forward and teleported just in time to dodge a punch.

"Hey, hurry up and meet up with me! I'm headed your way and I've got a new model right behind me!"

 _"What!?"_

 _"Alright. If you can, try and slow it down with obstacles. Don't use any more Trion unless it's for Teleport. We'll speed up it get to you. Just hold on."_

'Easy for you to say!'

She turned around while still running away and fired a shot. The shot was blocked, but still made a small crack on the Rabbit's arm. Seeing that it was slowed down a little, she used Teleport to make more distance between the two.

'Honestly! Why me!?'

* * *

 _"So when are you planning on being our Operator exactly? I'm pretty sure the other three need you in your seat."_

"You wanna get your ass kick, don't you?"

 _"Not really. No. I'm just wondering."_

"Well that won't be for a while. I'm having quite a bit of fun out here."

 _"Really? You sound bored."_

"It beats me beating the crap out of you."

 _"I've gotten better."_

Mei let out a sigh as she continued the small conversation with Yuki while she took out more Trion Soldiers.

She saw more rushing at her, but she just used Teleport to appear above them all.

She let out a rain of Meteora, causing some to blow up and smoke to fly in the air. She brought her Kōgetsu up and fell into the smoke. She used the chance to quickly slash at each eye she saw.

One came up behind her and let out a roar, but was quickly skewer by the Scorpions coming out of her back.

 _"Well, it at least_ sounds _like you're having fun."_

"I would like more of a challenge, but I guess beggars can't be choosers."

 _"You_ could _go find Suzu. Looks like she's being chased by a New Model. Maybe you could have some fun there."_

"And if she gets caught in the crossfire?"

 _"Then that's her fault. You already know that."_

'Looks like he's back to normal.' She let out another sigh as she lifted her arm and easily stabbed a still moving soldier in the eye. "By the way, how are things on your end? I haven't received the order to stop you from Director Shinoda yet."

 _"I'm doing fine. None of them are worth my memory yet and I've only had to deal with one New Model so far. Really, I think these new models are trying to stay out of my 'playground.' Wonder why."_

"Now you're just being overly arrogant. Don't forget to watch how much Trion you use. I'm sure you at least have _some_ damage from fighting the new model."

 _"Not much. If anything, I'm more worried about whether or not the destroyed buildings will come out of my pay."_

"Speaking of which, I just saw a building fall."

 _"That was probably me."_

"..."

 _"Hey, I'm trying my best to make sure at least some buildings are still standing. It's been a while since I've been out like this, so you can't blame me for any if this. Oh, I just thought of something. Ya wanna have a contest?"_

"Let me guess... Whoever takes out the most wins and the loser has to buy the winner lunch?"

 _"I was thinking that the losers pays for everything the winners wants to a day."_

"Alright. Sounds fair to me."

While she was talking, Mei had two cubes of Trion that were merging together in front of her. She also had her Radar in front of her.

 _"So let's-... Hey! That wasn't fair!"_

"Tomahawks are fair game. That's five for me."

She noticed something from the corner of her eye. Once she got a better look she could see what it was, plain as day.

"If _he_ is here then that must mean..."

* * *

 _"Some more regular ones coming up."_

Minoru turned around and swiped his hand in time to slice through the eye of a Marmod.

He didn't rest though, he turned his body a bit and brought another Scorpion from his arm to cut down another Marmod.

He jumped into the air to dodge the laser that came from a nearby Bander.

A shot came from nearby and shot through the Bander's eye.

Once he landed, Minoru quickly took out the crawling Marmods and the Bambster that was there.

Svantje jumped down from a building and landed next to Minoru.

"There are so many. We've gotten lucky that we haven't come across one of the new models yet though," the sniper said as she rested her Egret on her shoulder.

 _"Hey, don't go jinxing things."_

"I'm not. Besides, I'm sure Nii-chan could handle it."

Minoru looked over at Svantje before getting a small smile.

"We've been told that even a single A-Rank won't be enough to take the new models out. It's best to go and regroup with others."

 _"I would like to point something out to you two. Apparently, there actually_ is _someone who is tearing through those new models."_

Both Svantje and Minoru went through the people they knew to try and figure out who that could possibly be. Minoru had a few more accurate guesses, but he thought that even they would have some trouble.

Svantje just shook her head and turned back to Minoru.

"That doesn't matter right now! Like you said, Nii-chan, it's better if we-"

It had sped by.

Minoru went wide eyed once he saw the Rabbit speed by and grab Svantje.

The Rabbit moved away from Minoru and started opening up its torso.

Not taking kindly to this, Minoru started to run forward.

"!"

He didn't get far though as another Rabbit came from behind and slammed him to the ground.

His face was smashed into the ground, but he could still see the Rabbit that was holding Svantje.

Svantje started to freak out as she struggled to get out. She froze once she saw the six insect-like tentacles come out and start to get near her.

"H-hel-"

"So irritating."

In one quick motion, the six insect-like tentacles were cut off.

A blade was stabbed through the middle of the Rabbit, then dragged up, splitting its upper-body.

Svantje started to fall from the Rabbit's grasp, but was caught by an arm.

Minoru felt the weight on top of him disappear. He looked up to see the Rabbit that was on top of him get up.

Two blades moved in unison and stabbed into each of the arms. With a double yell of "Senku!" the arms of the Rabbit were quickly cut off. The head came rolling down right after.

The two who had taken care of the second Rabbit walked up to Minoru. The older one bent down and extended his arm. Minoru grabbed it and stood up.

"Sigh. I know I don't need to tell you this, but be more careful. For now, we are going to be with you two. The more people here the less likely something like that will happen."

Hikigane Sekai lightly put Svantje down on the ground as he spoke.

Next to him Jinsei and Daigo looked over the area. Jinsei nodded as if he had given his approval while Daigo had his usual dull expression.

Sekai let out a small sigh before patting both Svantje and Minoru's heads.

He then turned to his own squad.

"Kid, you are in charge of protecting the girl. Jinsei, you and I will be fighting with Minoru. That being said, be prepared to help the kid out if something comes up."

"Understood."

"Roger, roger!"

"Good. Sigh. Let's get going now."

Sekai started to make his way to another area.

The other four quickly followed him. They knew he was smart enough to lead them right now.

* * *

"Where the hell are they!? Honestly! How long do they think I can run?" Suzume yelled as she dodged another hit.

"Stop complaining!"

She jumped away as a green laser-like beam shot at the new model. She saw that it didn't have much of an effect, but two more hit it, making it jump back.

"It's about time."

Both Takeshi and Toby landed in front of her with a Scorpion in one's hand and Trion orb by the other's head.

"These things are irritating. We couldn't handle one before, but since you're here, I'm sure we can win," Takeshi said as he took one hand out of his pocket. "Let's get started, you two."

"Right!"

* * *

A large-scale invasion has broken out in Mikado City.

Border has responded accordingly by moving their agents to protect the city and the civilians. They did their job well and managed to take out a large number of Trion soldier.

But then the Rabbit came into the picture.

Once it entered the battlefield, multiple agents were stopped from protecting the city and the civilians. They had caused a few Bail Outs while also taking the captain of a B-Rank squad.

It had been decided that the agents would regroup to deal with this problem.

And now...

Multiple things were happening at once.

An Operator with a Side Effect was making her way to the Border base while taking out any and all Trion soldiers she saw.

The #1 Attacker in Border was making his way around to defeat the Rabbits.

The other agents were gathering together to strengthen their forces.

An A-Rank agent and a B-Rank agent were on their way to help a group of C-Ranks agents.

Someone was seeing the future and figuring out what to do.

And also...

* * *

'I've given them enough information. Now... It's time for the main show to begin...'

A person smiled as he ran with three others.

His appearance was one that male models envied, while female models would love.

He was suppose to be on the side protecting. He was on the side that was destroying.

He was someone who no one could trust.

People hated him for just being around them.

He gladly took all that hate and savored it.

'Let me see some truly horrific pain.'


	13. Invasion: Part 3

**Chapter 13:** Invasion: Part 3

* * *

 _"The three of you working together can easily take me on."_

 _"Huh? Where did that come from, Senpai?"_

 _Tsukiko Squad was currently in their operating room with their leader eating ice-cream and the other three just hanging around. They had duty later on, but just figured they would use their free time to idle about._

 _"I'm just saying. You three are definitely strong in your own right, but can't do much against someone like me or stronger. You can get a few hits in here and there, but there are people who can easily out-class me even when using my Side Effect."_

 _"What are you getting at, Captain?" Suzume asked, taking her earbuds out._

 _"I'm saying that it's always better to fight together, for you three. You're strong alone, you're stronger when you have teammates, but you're strongest when fighting together."_

 _"That's obvious. Everyone is at their best with their own squads, so of course that would go for us too," Toby said as he finished his chocolate bar._

 _"That's true, but...You three are different from everyone else. I don't know if you notice this but I'm sure Mei-chan has. You three always compliment each othe in battle, whether you realize it or not."_

"Porcupine!"

"Asteroid."

Takeshi and Toby jumped back from the hit that the Rabbit tried to land. While the blades all around Toby retracted, the orbs around Takeshi were gone.

The two were use to working together. They knew how the other would move and what attack they would unleash. That being said, so did the squad's Sniper.

"Suzume-senpai."

 _"Right!"_

The two jumped to the side just as a shot past them and hit the Rabbit. It didn't cause too much damage, but there was now a fifth bullet sized hole in its arm. Something like that was a deciding factor in any if their fights.

"You two, I'm gonna use _that_ , so get ready to land the finishing blow," Takeshi said as the three orbs floated around his head again.

 _"Sure thing!"_

"Gotcha!"

The three orbs flew towards the Rabbit, but split up and made a triangle around it. Multiple small beams shot from each one and headed for the Trion Soldier. They followed after it when it jumped up and even when it moved to the side.

"Just get hit by my Laser Circus."

 _"You honestly read too much manga."_

Toby ignored his two teammates and got into position. He was right in front of the Rabbit with blades coming out of his body. He rushed forward and met the Trion Solider head on.

The Rabbit tried to land a punch, but was hit by the beams following it.

Toby easily dodged the punch and beams before using Teleport to appear above the Trion solider and slashed at its eye.

The Rabbit fell to the ground with a thud while Toby let out a sigh and fixed his hat. He could hear the other two going at it and let out a small sigh.

He looked around and saw that they were able to keep the damage to a minimum, but some houses were destroyed.

'Nothing we can do about it now.'

 **CRASH!**

Toby felt something stab into his back.

He felt like something was pulling him backwards and saw three beams headed for him. He got ready for another fight as the beams went around him and towards whatever was behind him. He felt the pull stop and he quickly turned around.

He went wide eyed at what he saw.

Standing before both he and Takeshi were two new Rabbits with different designs.

"Toby, your back!"

Before he could think about what was being said, he felt the same pull from before and was quickly brought to the ground. He tried to get up, but the pull was too strong.

'Gravity? No. It doesn't feel like Lead Bullets, so... That crackling sound... Magnets! These things can use magnets too!?'

He heard a loud noise and looked up to see one of the new designed Rabbits flying in the air. He saw two beams pass above him and quickly used Scorpion to dislodge the two things from his back. He rolled to the side as the flying one smashed into the ground.

A shot was fired and hit the new designed Trion Soldier, but left only a small hole.

Toby jumped up and used Teleport to get closer, but the new designed Rabbit flew into the air again. He used Teleport to follow it, but missed his target and got hit by a powerful punch that sent him crashing to the ground.

Meanwhile, Takeshi had been trying to land a hit on the other new designed Rabbit, but was only using his Asteroid beams. He tried to get more power instead of using Hound or Viper's trajectory changing abilities since they would still somehow escape.

He had both his hands out as he fired from the (now five) orbs around his head. Each shot out two beams with only a half of them actually hitting.

'Damn it... Our opponents are our opposites... We're too far to actually switch as well...'

Takeshi continued to fire, but kept an eye for where everything was. Generally speaking, he was not smarter than Toby. But when it came to tactics and mid-battle strategies, he was far better than Toby was.

"Senpai, see if you can help Toby and push them closer to where I am. Toby, when we're close enough, we're gonna switch opponents."

" _Roger!"_

Jumping back a little, Takeshi let loose his beams again. He could hear the sounds of Suzume's shots and kept an eye around him to make sure he would be close enough.

On the other side of things, Toby dodged a hit from the speeding Rabbit. He tried to get a few good hits in, but ever time he got close, it flew back up.

He tried using Teleport in collaboration with Suzume's shots, but the Trion solider seemed to only mind the shots.

While in the air, he continued to move his eyes to use Teleport while slashing along with the shots. This seemed to have a good effect as the Rabbit couldn't block all of the hits and tried to move away.

"Take, we're good!"

"Right."

Toby started to fall. As he did so, he turned his body so that he was facing Takeshi and the other new designed Rabbit.

Takeshi followed his teammates example and turned around as well while his opponent was distracted.

The two Rabbits went for another attack.

"Teleport!"

"Teleport."

Takeshi was now in the air.

Toby was now on the ground.

"Hedgehog!"

"Laser Circus."

Multiple Scorpion blades sprang from Toby's back and stopped the Rabbit in its tracks.

Seeing this, Toby formed two more Scorpion blades - after losing the ones on his back - and looked around to use Teleport. He quickly moved around and continued to slash at it before slashing at its eye.

.

While in the air, the flying Rabbit tried to dodge the attacks by flying, but the beams let out by Takeshi easily followed their target and caged it in before pelting it non-stop from all directions.

The beams blew holes through the Rabbit. They started moving around inside the Rabbit like a sword that was used to chop a bamboo dummy multiple times. They didn't stop until they completly destroyed it.

Takeshi smirked at his work as he fell to the ground.

He put his hand on his ear and said, "Next is helping out Yuki-senpai."

 _"You're damn right!"_

"You're damn right!"

* * *

"Target confirmed. A flock of baby birds. They're evacuating the citizens," one of the Neighbor girls said as she looked at her screen.

"Of course. No wonder nobody came out when we disturbed their nest."

"Now then. Let's capture those baby birds," Hairein said with a smirk. "Miden's manpower is favorably dispersed. Everything is ready for the Rabbits to carry out their mission. The investigation by out Rads revealed that the baby birds' Triggers don't have an escape function. All of you, go play with the Miden soldiers, so the a Rabbits can do their jobs."

"Hm. Looks like even a small animal can have a nasty poison in them," Pyr said as she looked at the screen.

They all look at the screens to see a large shot fired, destroying one of the Rabbits.

"That Trion reading sure is amazing. I would love to make that creature my personal pet."

"Was that a Black Trigger?" Hairein asked, looking back at the footage.

"No, not a Black Trigger," the second girl said. "The reading was of a normal Trigger... Or _should_ be."

"A new enemy!? They've destroyed two modded Rabbits already!"

"It's not a combatant, but one of the baby birds. But these numbers..."

" **A golden goose.** How unexpected..." Hairein looked up and started looking from one of them to another while saying, "Ranbanein. Enedora. Pyr. We'll send you through a Gate as planned. Scatter the Miden soldiers and support the Rabbits. But don't go all out. We're only looking to scatter them. Mira's Trigger will retrieve you if you get in danger. And _you_ , you will do the same."

"'Danger'? As if Miden's small fry could hurt me!" Enedora said, getting an agreement from Pyr.

"Visa. Hyuse. Go after the golden goose, we might be lucky enough...to acquire a **new god.** "

* * *

In four different places, Gates opened up.

One opened up to show a black haired man with black horns.

The #3 A-Rank saw this Gate.

One opened up to show a man with red hair and regular horns.

Two Snipers saw this Gate.

One opened up to show an orange haired girl with regular horns.

A new A-Rank saw this one.

One opened up to show an old man and a young man with horns.

Agents from a certain branch saw this Gate.

" _Commence with combat."_

* * *

He would soon show his true colors.

'So it has finally begun... Good~'

He wore a sinister grin that went unnoticed by everyone else.

* * *

"I see. Alright. I'll head over there right away. Just wait for me."

Ketsueki turned to the B-Rank squad he was with. He had been helping them while also regrouping with the other agents.

"I'm sorry, but I must be going to assist in guiding the C-Ranks to the base. I have no doubt that Rei-san and the others are more than capable for something like that, but I've been having this bad feeling for a while now. If you don't mind..."

"No. By all means, head over to assist them."

"Right. Some other B-Rank squads should be around this area, so just meet up with them and you should be fine."

"Right!"

Oshiro and Hitsugi watched Ketsueki take his leave by jumping onto the buildings.

They had heard Kimura tell them that there really were some B-Ranks nearby and got ready to meet up with them.

They had been moving as a group and were able to take out a large amount of Trion soldiers. But not that they knew more B-Rank were close by they didn't try to take the Trion soldiers out. They figured they would regroup and get more done that way,

Hitsugi let out a frustrated sigh once she noticed that Misó wasn't moving faster.

"Hey, Misó, why don't you- ...!?"

 **Trion body limit exceeded. Bail Out.**

Oshiro turned around, but jumped up a split second after. He landed on one of the buildings and looked down to see Misó looking up at him with a large grin.

Misó Epanástasi was the type of person anyone could hate. He loved seeing others in pain, while also liking any pain brought upon himself. He was a selfish person who only cared about information, pain and himself, so it would not be too far off to say he was someone who should not have been allowed in Border to begin with.

Something like this shocked his squad though. They knew he could be the worst person to know at times, but they didn't think he would purposely cause someone to Bail Out while in the middle of an invasion.

 _"What the fuck, Misó!? Why the hell did you-"_

"Trigger off."

Misó couldn't hear the Shooter anymore.

He was now in his real body.

"Kirai-kun, what are you..."

Misó continued to grin as he pulled something out of his pocket.

"Hey, captain... I hate you. I hate every single thing about you. I'm not saying this to 'encourage you to win' or anything. I seriously hate you with every ounce of my being. You are the one who hurts my pride the most. You hurt it beyond even the point of enjoyment. You have information that even I don't know, and even when you get hurt you put that same fucking smile on. You have absolutely no idea how many times I wanted to just breaks every bone in your body, smash your face in and then dump you off somewhere for the crows to peck at your barely living form that wouldn't even be recognizable to someone with 100% perfect memory."

Oshiro started with wide eyes as Misó continued to say these things with a grin in place.

"Oh, and one more thing... My name is Misó. Just Misó. You can stop calling me 'Kirai' now. **I am Misó of Aftokrator**."

Oshiro froze.

He couldn't properly register what had just been said. Multiple things rushed through his head.

He's lying, right?

He couldn't possibly be one of them, right?

He just wants to see pain again, right?

If he really was from Aftokrator, then he would have-

"Págos."

He was back in a Trion body. This one was different from the one before. Instead of being in the Hogo Squad uniform, he was now wearing a gray and black outfit that had a large coat covering it.

This was the proof. The proof that he was telling the truth.

"Now let's begin."

* * *

One battlefield that was located southwest of the Border base had an old man and a young man.

"Oh dear. I'm not sure I feel quite right about abducting children."

"It's our duty."

This was the battlefield that also contained Tamakoma Branch's strongest squad.

* * *

One battlefield that was located east of the Border base had a black haired man with heterochromatic eyes.

"It's a humanoid Neighbor, Kazama-san."

"Yeah, and... He has _black horns._ Seems like we drew the short straw."

This was the battlefield that also contained the #3 A-Rank squad.

* * *

On a separate, and moving, battlefield stood a woman with orange hair.

"Only one person? I'm gonna have to complain to Mira after this." She turned to her opponent and let out a sigh. "At least it's a cutie. Hey, how would you like to come home with me and be my personal pet? I'll treat you kindly~~"

"Nope. I already have a crazy Operator to take care of, so I don't need you. Thanks for the offer and the opportunity to come and fight, but..."

Tsukiko Yuki held a pole in his hand. The pole was completely back and was the length of his arm. One end had a pointed tip while the other had a blunt end.

He spun the pole in his grasp. When he stopped, the pointed tip was now covered with Trion and looked like a scythe belonging to the grim reaper.

"I'm going to take you down now."

"Fine. I guess I'll just blow off your legs so you can run. By the way, what is the name if my new pet?"

"I don't know. But my name is Tsukiko Yuki."

"Well mine is Pyr."

* * *

"Humanoid Neighbors, huh? ... Sigh. So damn irritating. ... Alright. Give us the exact locations of each fight."

Sekai spoke to his squad's Operator while the others listened in. They seemed to be farther than other squads, so they needed to be kept up on everything going around on the other battlefields.

"Alright... So Azuma-san's group, Tamakoma, Tsukiko, Hogo, and Kazama Squad... Disregarding our current position, Tamakoma should be more than capable of taking care of their opponents. If Ketsu is also there, they shouldn't have any issue."

Putting his chin between his fingers, Sekai started to think. The group's current position gave them a chance to help one of two sides. Which one depended on who needed more help.

"Tsukiko is by himself... But Taichi, Chano Squad and two of Arafune Squad have already been taken out... Alright. Minoru, you and I will head over to help out Tsukiko. Jinsei, you and the other two... No. I want you three to head over to the base actually. Take out any Trion soldiers you can, but try not to lose too much Trion."

The usually lazy-looking guy really gave off the impression of a leader now. But what he just said had confused the whole group. To them, it made more sense for them to assist in the battle that Azuma was on instead of going to the base.

Sekai continued to think though.

"I'm not saying you three won't be helpful in these battles, but something's been bugging me... Sigh. Just head over there. If anything, the Neighbors will be following the C-Rank agents to the base, assuming Tamakoma can't take them out before they reach the base. It would be best to keep them safe since they don't have Bail Out."

Jinsei and Daigo, who were in the same squad as Sekai and knew more about him, understood that if something about a fight was bugging him he would be more cautious. If it came to that then something really was bound to happen.

Minoru nodded his head and told Svantje to follow Jinsei and Daigo back to the base.

Sekai scrunched up his eyebrows.

'That bastard Misó...'

* * *

On a different battlefield, Mei shot a basic model Rabbit with Lead Bullets as she blocked a hit from a regular Marmod with her Kogetsu.

"Asteroid."

A cube of Trion appeared at her side before splitting up and destroying the Marmods that had surrounded her.

She pushed the one in front of her back and quickly went in to stab it in its eye.

She walked up to the downed Rabbit and stabbed its eye as well. She used Kōgetsu to split it open and take the cubes that were in it.

"Takaoto to HQ. I've gotten some more agents."

 _"Good job, Mei. We need you to go over and help Yuki out. He's facing a humanoid Neighbor. They have a regular Trigger, but we don't know what they are capable of. We are having other agents deal with more humanoid Neighbors, and your the closest to him. Hatohara and Hikigane are headed over to him as well."_

"Right. I'll go over right now."

Using her Side Effect, Mei started thinking of her strategy. She hadn't been told anything else, but that didn't stop her. She would come up with hundreds upon hundreds of strategies before even making it half way to the battlefield.

'I just hope he doesn't destroy more than necessary.'

Letting out a sigh, Mei jumped a bit when she head a voice in her ear.

 _"Mei-san?"_

"Hm? Oh. Suzume. Sorry I haven't been helping you guys out. I was busy getting rid of some soldiers."

 _"Wait, since when did you fight!?"_

 _"Now isn't the time for that. Mei-san, do you know where Yuki-senpai is? We are going to go help him out."_

"I'm headed over there right now. I've been told he, along with others in different areas, are fighting humanoid Neighbors, so your help will be useful. I'll send you all the coordinates."

 _"Alright. Thank you."_

"Right. Hurry up, and don't be late."

Mei let out a sigh as he sped through the battlefield. She wasn't using the Trigger that was made just for her, so she felt like her pace was agonizingly slow. She didn't let that get to her though.

Her mind went back to a conversation she and Yuki had.

 _"Why did you tell them that? You already know that even if you tell them that, they only see it as backing you up, not really each other," Mei said as she typed away on her computer._

 _"That's true, but the parts that are attached to me are the parts I need them to get rid of," Yuki answered with a tub of ice-cream in front of him. "They are each their own person and I need them to realize that."_

 _"You make it sound like they are just AI who learn for others."_

 _"In a sense...they are like that."_

 _Mei turned from her computer and gave a questioning look to her friend._

 _"Care to explain?"_

 _"Think about Takeshi's personality, Toby when he got here, and Suzu's Side Effects." He took another spoonful of ice-cream into his mouth. "Takeshi sees almost everything as a blank canvas, so it's easy for someone like me, who can interest him, to 'paint something' on it. Suzu's Side Effect find a persons Rhythm, and she accommodates to it. She's like an instrument a person can play. Toby sticks with me because, besides Arashiyama Squad, I was the only one to really see him past his appearance. They need to learn to move forward without me."_

 _"Hm. This coming for you and your Side Effect... It sounds like a bad joke."_

 _"That may be, but it's true. They can't change their Side Effects, and I don't want them to change their personalities, but I_ do _want them to know that they should work at their own pace and not try to match someone else's."_

 _"..."_

 _Mei didn't answer and simply turned back to her computer. She typed furiously as her friend continued to talk._

 _"Huh? Why are you mad?"_

 _"..."_

 _"Okay, okay. I'm sorry for sounding like a hypocrite, but..."_

 _"No... Recently, I haven't been able to say you're being a hypocrite."_

 _"What do you mean?"_

 _"..."_

 _"Mei, don't ignore me~"_

'That idiot. He hasn't even noticed that he's going back to his old habits...'

Mei shook her head as she rushed to her best friend's side.

She would go meet up with him, thousands of strategies ready to use, and win. They would beat their opponent like they had before. They would not lose to a single person.

That was how they were.


	14. Invasion: Part 4

**Chapter 14:** Invasion: Part 4

* * *

Oshiro wasn't sure what to think at the moment.

Oshiro moved his eyes from looking at Misó's face to the horns on his head.

Oshiro was stunned.

His former teammate's face didn't look like he was lying.

'So he would always cover his head to...hide his horns...'

But there was no time to think.

Oshiro's thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of footsteps moving back.

Oshiro lifted his head up.

"Kirai-kun...!"

Misó didn't respond to Oshiro's shout.

The boy just faced Oshiro silently.

They were about a hundred meters away from each now. Oshiro recalled all the times he had fought with Misó and gulped. One hundred meters wasn't a distance to Misó.

But Oshiro still believed that everyone could talk it out. He still believed so.

He casually walked forward and then said, "Hold on, Misó. Something's not right. I know you like playing jokes on others...and I don't know how you got such an... _interesting_ Trigger, but-"

Before he could finish, Oshiro froze up.

His body was trembling.

From the Trion body of Misó Epan-... No. Of Misó of Aftokrator, there seemed to be something spraying out. Oshiro's feet were just nailed to the ground. His stomach could feel a tremendous pressure, and his breathing was erratic. There was a sense of pain deep within his brain that was like fireworks, and he stopped thinking.

Was this some sort of gaseous attack coming from Misó? Of course not. Misó didn't do anything, but that was enough to force Oshiro to be unable to move.

Killing intent.

The killing intent alone was enough to turn Oshiro to stone.

The tremendous pressure that was released made him feel like the surrounding gravity was increased by ten times.

Something like that shouldn't be an issue when in a Trion body, but the feeling that Misó was giving off made Oshiro think he was in his real body, ready to die. The fear he felt had stopped him from even giving his body simple commands.

"Hold it- Misó...listen to me!"

Oshiro still tried to talk to Misó, but Misó didn't respond. Which was very odd on its own.

A gust of wind blew by, and Misó's bangs started to wave.

Behind the bangs, the eyes that looked like lightning were completely emotionless.

If a killer's eyes could be said to be wild and agitated, Misó's eyes were the complete opposite. They were no longer a human's eyes. A human couldn't possibly have those eyes that covered all emotional sense. It seemed like those eyeballs were two glass balls or crystals.

Misó of Aftokrator didn't say anything.

He just stretched his arm aside, glancing at Oshiro as if he were watching him.

He was numb.

Oshiro didn't say anything now.

Slowly, Misó raised his hand as if he was holding an axe.

An unknown attack? Could Oshiro dodge in time? Oshiro's body started to tremble.

But he wouldn't back away.

Oshiro's hand went to the blade at his hip.

Suddenly, a growl came from somewhere.

"Move aside! Hogo!"

The sound of wind being cut could be heard.

An extended slash passed between Oshiro and Misó, forming a wall of dust and debris. Misó, who had been intending to launch the attack, was instantly distracted. At that moment, a girl appeared between the two of them. The girl was in a black t-shirt, tied in a knot on the side, a jacket and pants. The end of her pants were tucked into a pair of combat boots that went a quarter of the way up her leg.

Following Kanzaki, who was giving off killing intent, was Kimura, who's voice came through to his ear.

" _There is no reason to hesitate on a fight. Especially during an invasion. No matter the reason, Captain."_

Though it was known what Kanzaki did, she seemed to be remaining vigilant.

Though Oshiro was shocked, he was still staring at Misó, who was acting strangely.

"Hey, Kawa-chan! What's with him?"

 _"Does that matter right now? He had always been a psycho who would disregard everything around him just because he was bored and attack everywhere at once."_

"?"

"This name: Misó Epanástasi."

Kanzaki carefully glared at Misó and said, "Whether that's his real full name, or just something he made up, there is no point to use it."

Misó himself didn't rebut this.

He just narrowed his eyes and pointed his hand from Oshiro to Kanzaki.

"What...?"

"We asked the Border in Greece, where he supposedly transferred from, and they said that there's never been anyone with the name Misó Epanástasi. It seems he had even lied about his information. Hm. That's ironic. I've been keeping eye on him since then though. What's more, Kako-san and I had asked Mei-dono about certain calculations concerning this guy. It seems that she was right on the mark."

Oshiro stared at Misó.

At that moment, Misó widened his eyes.

 **BOOM!**

A loud boom could be heard.

"This guy really is the worst."

With a sharp and icy look, Kanzaki's voice sounded like a blade.

* * *

"Meteora."

Yuki watched as his attack was easily fended off by his opponent.

The pole in his hand had a ball attached to the blunt end of it.

The area all around them had turned from an urban area to flat land with some debris here and there.

"Well, that was one way to start this off. But really, is that the best you've got?" Pyr started walking forward. "I want my pet to be strong, so you better go all out against me."

Letting out a small sigh, Yuki ran forward with his weapon at the ready. He spun the pole in his hand and the ball at the end of the blunt side was gone.

A crescent blade appeared on the pointed end of the pole.

Yuki made a slash with the new blade, but missed when his opponent jumped in the air.

He jumped into the air and spun the pole again.

This time, the blunt end had the ball back on.

Yuki brought it down with enough power to send Pyr smashing to the ground. He didn't relent as he used the fall to try and land another powerful hit. The hit caused debris to fly into the air and obscure his vision.

"Nice try, but not good enough."

Yuki saw a hand going for his head and ducked under it. He reacted quickly and used his own hand to swat the arm away, going for a hit right after. He felt the impact, Pyr went flying across the battlefield.

He spun the pole again and it reverted to its base form. He put it in the holder at the back of his waist and rushed again with a Scorpion blade in hand and a Trion cube next to him.

"Meteora."

Pyr saw the head-on attack, and brought her arm up to block, but was surprised when she saw Yuki right in front of her, Scorpion raised above his head.

She quickly kicked him before she could be cut, but didn't notice the Meteora until they hit her. She clicked her tongue and looked over to see Yuki standing back up.

"Hey, hey, hey. How'd you get in front of me so quickly?" Pyr asked with a slightly irritated expression.

"Hehehe! That's my secret. Sorry~~"

Yuki smirked as he got rid of Scorpion.

"Maybe if you pay more attention, you will figure out the answer."

"Hm. Nice to know that my future pet has spunk."

She picked up a rock and examined it for a few seconds before tossing it at Yuki.

"A little present from me."

Yuki raised an eyebrow, but still got ready to defend. He went wide eyed when he saw the rock start to glow and quickly jumped back just as an explosion went off.

"Well that certainly was-"

When he looked back up, he saw multiple rocks being thrown at him. He brought up Shield, while also continuing to jump back to get out of range from the main blasts.

He wasn't paying attention to the woman now and focused on the rocks.

This allowed Pyr to make her way behind him and land a kick on him.

He was sent sailing through the air and came to a stop when he regained his balance.

He saw a small glow next to him and saw '15' on his uniform. He used Scorpion to cut that part off and tried to get away. He noticed that this explosion had a delay from the glow and was able to put up a Shield to miss a fatal blow.

'Fifteen, huh?...'

Nodding to himself, Yuki pulled out the pole again, and spun it.

The crescent blade appeared again.

Yuki ran forward and tried multiple slashes.

Pyr easily moved around them.

She saw a small opening in the attacks and took the chance.

She tried to land a punch, but was only able to touch the tip of his uniform. This didn't seem to bother her as she smirked while Yuki cut the piece of clothing off and jumped back.

The explosion wasn't as big as the other ones, but it was still big enough to cause dust to fly into the air.

She got ready for another attack.

She saw something headed for her.

She brought her arm up and grabbed what it was.

She was shocked when she saw it was just the jacket from Yuki's uniform.

"Got you."

Yuki appeared in front of her and managed to get a good slash at her, making her jump back to avoid another hit.

He straightened up and smirked.

Yuki saw that he had cut through her cloak, and the skin-tight outfit under it, but both seemed to quickly be fixed. He didn't mind too much since he saw that she still suffered from the actual cut he made.

"Again... How did you just appear in front of me!?"

"I figured it out already."

"Hm? Figured what out?"

"You suck at this."

Yuki continued to smirk as he out the pole away.

* * *

Other battles were going on at the same time.

One consisted of multiple B-Rank Border agents against a single, red-haired Neighbor.

Another had just finished up between the #3 A-Rank squad and a black-haired Neighbor with an odd Trigger.

The last battle was the one that was meant to protect the C-Rank agents that were there.

The last battle was the one that was meant to capture the C-Rank agents that were there.

The ones who were on this battlefield were an old and young Neighbor, and a squad from the Tamakoma Branch.

"Resistance is futile."

As the brown haired Neighbor spoke, a shield of magnets floated in front of him, protecting him from the gunfire Karasuma Kyosuke and Kizaki Reiji were letting out.

With a small "Klink", Karasuma changed the type of bullets he was using.

He started firing again. This time though, the buckets moved around the shield of magnets and came from multiple directions.

Most if the shots were blocked by the magnets floating around Hyuse, but some managed to get through and strike the brown haired Neighbor.

Konami came from above and behind with her large battle axe - known as Sōgetsu - ready to strike. She grinned as she fell, Hyuse looking back to get ready for the strike.

The old man with a cane appeared in front of Konami, and was able to block her attack.

"Ho ho. What an energetic young lady."

Feeling an ominous vibe, Konami quickly moved back.

"Hmph. And quick on the update as well."

Konami narrowed her eyes as Viza moved closer to his partner.

'What was that just now? This guy's Trigger gives me a really bad vibe...'

As he moved closer to Hyuse, Viza started to speak. His tone remaining as calm as when they first arrived.

"Hyuse-dono. There's no need to waste your skill in this skirmish. Let's achieve our goal and withdraw."

"Understood."

Hyuse lifted his arm up. The magnets followed along and started to clash and morph together. They started to take a new form in the shape of, what could be compared to, a shotgun-sized railgun.

Small electrical discharges came off of the new weapon as it seemed to be charging up for a new attack.

Before anyone could really register what happened, something shot forward from the shotgun-sized railgun. That something slammed into Chika, who had been retreating with Osamu and the other C-Rank agents.

"Target captured."

Osamu and Reiji quickly turned their attention to see a few magnets embedded into Chika's shoulder.

With a small zapping sound, Chika was lifted into the air. Smaller magnets made a sort of link to Hyuse as electricity seemed to run through it.

Osamu wasted no time in grabbing Chika's hand, while also grabbing a nearby fence.

That didn't seem to do much though as the two were still being lifted into the air.

"Kyosuke!"

"Roger!"

Seeing Karasuma firing the same trajectory-changing shots as before, Hyuse commanded the magnets around him to create a dome around him. This defense seemed to work as no shots had made it through.

Although...

"!"

Hyuse was sent flying out of his own protective dome by a hard punch from Reiji.

It was obvious to everyone who saw that Reiji had taken the chance to hit where the defense was the weakest, letting him land the hit.

Noticing something familiar, Reiji looked down to see the same magnets now stuck in his arm.

 _"I see. I've figured out how his Trigger works. It's magnets, those reflective shards operate like_ _ **magnets**_ _... All of them are pushing and pulling toward each other, they're manipulated by the power he gives off. That's what killed the force of my attack."_

Reiji turned his attention from his arm to the two black haired agents behind him.

"Kyosuke. Osamu, hurry to HQ with the C-Ranks. Keep Amatori out if this guy's magnets' range."

"Are you sure? You won't have numbers on your side anymore. Not to mention that Ketsu-san is still a good distance away."

"We're in no position to retreat a little at a time. Konami and I will keel them here."

"Roger."

Karasuma put his hand to his ear as he stared moving with the others.

"Director Shinoda, this is Karasuma. I'm heading from the southwest to HQ with the C-Rank trainees."

* * *

The former Border agent didn't do anything.

Kanzaki stood in front of Oshiro, and she reached for the blade at her waist.

"I don't know what is going on with him now, but his mentality seems to have changed since he went into that body. Maybe this is his real face, but we can't be too sure about that either."

Kanzaki said in a curse-like voice.

Misó didn't say anything.

There was no need to talk. He raised his arm high as if it was a lit fuse.

Oshiro felt a chill, as if his heart was speared by an ice pillar.

No anger, no frenzy, no mockery, no sneering, nor any guilt.

He wasn't moving at all.

Seeing that, goosebumps appeared on Oshiro. He had seen at least two to three sides of Misó before, but this was something completely new to him.

The Neighbor had only one command to itself, and that was to do as he was commanded by his leader.

He didn't seem to care about the squad he was now betraying, or even what he had really just done. He was now just a tool to be used.

Oshiro gritted his teeth and looked up.

It was a sight no one had seen. It wasn't something special like a meteor falling to the ground. In all honesty, only a handful of people would actually care.

Oshiro turned to glare at Misó of Aftokrator.

"Damn it..."

Misó was just staring at Oshiro expressionlessly.

His eyes were like someone standing high above, looking down at insects rolling around in the dirt.

The Neighbor who had just shown his true colors didn't say anything.

His eyes didn't have any look of danger, not even a look a pity.

Because there was no need to pity a bug that was going to be crushed to death.

"WHAT KIND OF SICK JOKE IS THIS! AT LEAST SAY SOMETHING! LISTEN UP, I'M ANGRY, I'M REALLY ANGRY! THERE'S NO ROOM FOR NEGOTIATION, STOP THIS STUPID FARCE RIGHT NOW!"

Oshiro roared at the boy who was taller than him, but his voice was trembling.

At that moment, the three girls who hard heard him yell went wide eyed.

Oshiro recalled the speed, the power, the distance control and the battle skills that Misó had when in a simple Border Trion body. He knew that he wouldn't win against Misó on an actual one-on-one match. His use of a Trigger that no one had any information on meant that Oshiro was in a terrible place in this fight.

Besides, right now, his victory was just right in front.

Because he didn't need to disguise himself anymore.

"..."

"Hogo."

At that moment, Kanzaki Sukuu silently turned her head back and looked at Oshiro.

"I'll take care of this guy, hurry up and take out the Trion soldiers heading this way. Afterwards, head for the other B-Ranks."

For a moment, Oshiro was unable to understand what Kanzaki meant.

Because she had said it so casually.

In this situation where it was not much different from using martial arts to take on a tank.

Kanzaki wasn't hesitating, bothered, tolerant, fearful, anxious,

She stood before Oshiro, facing the Neighbor.

"W-why...?"

Thus, Oshiro could only choose to ask that.

Facing this question Oshiro barely managed to make out, Kanzaki said without turning her head back, "No reason. There's something I should do here, which is why I'm standing here. It's just that simple."

Kanzaki then said in an uninterested tone, "Betrayal? Is that what you had planned? How meaningless, really meaningless. If you do that, I really won't be holding back. This time I have a reason to slam your head into the ground with all my strength."

Kanzaki stepped forward.

Oshiro was unable to stop her, nor was he able to catch up to her. Though they were less than a meter away from each other, it made Oshiro feel like he wouldn't be able to catch up with her. It wasn't because the enemy was strong, not because of the pain within him, not because of the sharpness, weight, speed, cold or heat.

But because of the nature.

With her back facing Oshiro as she faced the Neighbor, Kanzaki gave off a presence of nature that indicated that she had the right to do this.

Kanzaki didn't turn back as she continued to say to Oshiro, "Backup won't be too long. Hikigane and Minoru have to pass by this area to reach Tsukiko and his fight. They will be able to provide assistance, should I need it."

Now that Kanzaki said it, Oshiro finally realized it.

He couldn't participate in this fight because he still saw Misó as a friend. He could shout and scream all he wanted, but he didn't want to really believe that Misó was a Neighbor, one who was attacking the city no less.

"Just leave this to me. Don't forget, I'm A-Rank material for a reason. And I don't ever plan on losing to this guy in a million- No. A trillion years."

Kanzaki said.

Oshiro was speechless.

"If that's the case, that's even more reason for me not to run away! I want to fight! Against this enemy that was my friend, my skills should more or less be of some help!"

"Don't be stupid, if we let any more damage come to the city, we don't even have the right to commit seppuku."

Kanzaki sounded rather casual.

"WHY ARE YOU STILL SO CONFIDENT IN YOURSELF!? HE WON'T SHOW ANY MERCY!

Oshiro sounded like someone who was trying to prevent a lunatic from jumping off a building.

"HOW CAN I LEAVE SUCH AN OPPONENT TO YOU! I WANT TO FIGHT! HOW CAN I RUN AWAY EVEN AT THIS POINT!"

"Listen to me."

But Kanzaki seemed abnormally calm,

"This thing in front of us is already past help. It's stupid to fight against him, let alone beat him, for someone like you."

Oshiro held his breath as he stared at Kanzaki.

"But don't be mistaken. I don't want to lose like that. I may not be able to beat him when he uses this Trigger, but I don't think that I'll lose. Maybe I can divert him away and hold him off."

Kanzaki said silently.

"Hogo, while I hold him off, please take care of the Trion soldiers and protect the city."

"Wait, what did you say?"

"Have you forgotten that these guys are going after the C-Rank agents? Those Trion soldiers are the ones who are really taking them away. If we can't protect something... We're no better than people like him."

The last sentence didn't seem to be directed at Oshiro, but at the Neighbor.

The unmoving Neighbor didn't respond to her.

Misó let Oshiro run out off to the side.

His attitude was like saying, no point arguing with you since the outcome will be the same.

He was wielding a Trigger that no one had knowledge on. What's more was that he was allowing these two to talk. He didn't seem to care that they were in the middle of a fight. He just thought so lowly of them.

"But what about yourself? Is it really alright to go against Misó..."

"Who knows, but this is the best choice. With your ability, you can't contain it. You have to seriously do your job well and try to destroy the Trion soldiers. Your hard work will increase my chances of continuing to be on the battlefield."

Kanzaki stared at Misó of Aftokrator and stepped forward.

"And I don't wish to cause ordinary civilians to be taken because of battle between us and these guys."

"...Can you really do that?"

"Yeah. Though it's a little disrespectful for me to say this, I decide to trust you for now."

Kanzaki didn't say any more.

Oshiro wanted to say something, but he didn't know what to say.

It would be a waste of time to stop Kanzaki. Every meaningless action would decrease Kanzaki's survival rate.

Oshiro gritted his teeth.

"THEN I'LL LEAVE IT TO YOU, KANZAKI-SAN! I'LL TRUST YOU THIS TIME!"

Oshiro shouted as he grabbed his blade and ran off.

Misó turned away from Kanzaki and stared at Oshiro.

Kanzaki moved her body and again blocked the Misó's line of sight.

"Your opponent is me. You've never beaten me, right?"

At this moment, Kanzaki actually smiled.

"Speaking of which, did he really just say that he decided to trust me? He's usually the one who goes wild in order to keep others out of situations. But this is the best way to say it. Because of that, my chances of survival have really increased."

After saying that, Kanzaki grabbed onto the hilt of Kōgetsu.

Misó that was staring at Kanzaki silently suddenly muttered under his breath.

"Stupid."

With a loud boom, a huge explosion occurred behind the Neighbor.

His back let out something that looked like wings.

They weren't wings that were as elegant as a swan's, but the screen of ice wings like a peacock.

Numerous sharp wings that looked that they were carved out from ice extended outwards like a hill of swords. At the same time, several tons of water in the air rush out and gathered behind the Neighbor.

The back fused with the water, forming a huge wing of water.

The huge ice wing of blades opened up behind the Neighbor, and each of them were about ten to twelve meters in length. They looked like a wall of sharp crystals that could cut anyone's fingers on the slightest touch.

The numerous ice wings stabbed up at the air.

Each wing was thoroughly infused with Trion, and each attack could flatten buildings and create craters. Even if it was on the battlefield as per normal, Kanzaki, who often caused enemies to back away in fear, was now stiff with tension. If it were anyone else, the killing intent released would have caused the person to faint.

"I really got quite a bad job now."

* * *

Yuki continued to smirk as he lazily twirled Idōgetsu in his hand.

"Whenever your hand, or arm, touches something, a number appears. Depending on the number, an explosion occurs at a certain time. The flash the numbers make is just for show. You use it to throw your opponent off and make them think the explosion is going to go off right away."

"Heh..."

"Hm? Did I get it wrong?"

"No, no, no. You are completly right." Pyr looked up with a psychotic look in her eyes. "But I can mark something from anything! Not just my arms and hands!"

Yuki went wide eyed when he saw a glow coming from his feet. He jumped up and saw a '2' on the ground.

"Damn it!"

 **BOOM!**

"Hehehe. Guess he should have been more-"

"Observant... Right?"

Pyr was shocked. She ducked just in time to dodge a slash at the neck, but still got kicked and was sent flying.

"I'll be taking this part of my uniform back now," Yuki said as he picked up his jacket. He looked it over and didn't find a number on it. "Good. I was hoping to keep it around to use that trick again."

"How the hell did you dodge that?"

Pyr looked up and saw a snowflake on the jacket start to fade away.

"Looks like your trick is like mine. We both use marks to fool our opponents."

She stood back up it's her psychotic look reaching a new level.

"You really will make a great pet!"

"Sorry, but he's already _my_ pet."

Pyr was shocked once again when she felt a massive amount of weight on her right side and fell to the ground.

"Who the hell did that!?"

"It's about time."

Mei landed next to Yuki with an indifferent expression on her face.

She let out a sigh and shook her head.

"I guess we should just hurry this up. You two already destroyed more than enough, and I don't want Director Netsuki yelling in our ears more than he usually does."

She clicked her tongue and looked away.

"Amo has it lucky. He's an S-Rank, so he doesn't get yelled at for making a new parking lot."

"Ah~~ I guess you're right. I've already figured her Trigger's ability out, so it should be easier for us." Yuki grinned as he got the pole back out. "Right! Let's finish her up before the others get here!"

* * *

"Are you sure it's a good thing to only send those two to fight one of the humanoid Neighbors!?" Netsuki asked from the Border Headquarters. "They cause more than enough damage on their own, and I doubt their opponent will care about the area!"

"Yes. The other squads are busy, and those two are strong enough to get the job done. Hatohara and Hikigane are in their way, but for now these two will take care of it," Shinoda answered while looking at the big screen in front of them all. "You are right about the area they're in, but that area has been cleared out for a while. I doubt most people would care for it."

"Those two are animals when they fight opponents like these. It's a good thing they are in that area," Kinuta said. "Not only that, but that boy's Trigger doesn't help any situation with multiple people around. It was a hassle to make it, along with that special Teleport for him. You were just showing favoritism, Director Shinoda."

"Say what you will, but both of those Triggers are well suited for those two. They will win this fight before backup can even reach them."


	15. Invasion: Part 5

**Chapter 15:** Invasion: Part 5

* * *

One battle had finished. The first battle. This battle was the one between the red haired Neighbor and multiple B-Rank agents, along with the support of three A-Rank agents.

It was a difficult battle that showed just how strong both sides were. The Neighbor - Ranbanein - had held his own against the large amount if Border agents. While on the flip side, Border had been able to deal with the powerful Trigger he had been using.

As the second battle came to an end, the third one between the the old-and-young Neighbor duo and two of Tamakoma Branch's members continued.

While Reiji was handling Hyuse, Konami was going hit-for-hit with Viza.

"Oh my. Ranbanein-dono, defeated... Miden warriors cannot be underestimated. This young lady is also quite skilled. Being stalled any longer would be problematic. What to do...?"

Konami gave a less than serious reply of, "What are you talking about? You've been evading this whole time, not even taking me seriously."

Viza simply continued to smile.

"Oh, no. I am always serious."

Just as he finished that sentence, a large Bambster tore through the buildings behind the old man.

Konami stared in shocked at not noticing the large Trion soldier until now. Even with alk the fighting going on, she should have still noticed it coming from the side. It was huge, so of course she should have noticed!

 _"Kirie-chan, just focus on your fight!"_

Something shot from the sky just as the Bambster was passing by. That something raced to the ground, impaling the Trion soldier in a single hit. It was followed by a falling person, who grabbed the something and cut the Bambster in half.

It was Viza's turn to be shocked.

There stood Ketsueki, Trishula in hand.

'It looks like another one has appeared...'

Konami moved over to stand next to Ketsueki.

"It's about time, Ketsu-san."

"Sorry about that. I was debating on whether I should go back to help Kanzaki with that traitor Misó."

As he spoke, Ketsueki took a glance at where he had just been, but saw nothing there. He had been informed about the twelve meter wings that Misó had sprouted at the beginning of his fight, and worried that they would be able to grow even larger.

"So, what exactly do we have here? What can their Triggers do?"

"I'm not sure about this old man, but the guy over there controls magnets. It's a really irritating Trigger."

"Magnets? Hm... Alright."

Ketsueki lifted his trident up, ready to attack. His eyes looked as if they were reading over something at a quick pace.

"Kirie-chan, can you do me a favor?"

"Hm? What?"

"I...sorta didn't notice that more Trion soldiers were headed in the direction that big one was going. Would you mind taking them out?"

"..."

Konami shifted her gaze to give an almost expressionless look.

Ketsueki seemed a bit twitchy at this. He shifted a hit before gulping.

"S-so...is that a yes?"

"Tsk. You owe me for this."

With those final parting words, Konami leaped up onto one if the buildings. She moved away by jumping from one roof to another.

Ketsueki let out a small sigh before moving to stand back-to-back with Reiji.

"Rei-san, we have to do our part over here."

"Of course."

* * *

Svantje scrunched up her eyebrows as she, along with two members of Hikigane Squad, made their way to the Border base. She was still confused as to why they were heading there when they would be more needed on the battlefield.

She had taken a look over at the two boys and saw that they didn't seem bothered by this. She went along with it because Minoru didn't seem to have any objections to the order, but she still had to wonder.

"Hey, do you know why we're headed back? I know he said he had a bad feeling, but just going off of that isn't really..."

"I haven't been on the squad for too long," Daigo said, not looking back, "but I know that when Captain has a bad feeling it's usually because something wrong will happen. You may think that it is best to stay out here, but something will happen, if it isn't already at the base. Our captain isn't the type of person who would give out unnecessary orders that make no sense."

Jinsei took a glance at Daigo, a smile on his face.

"Alright... I'll trust you."

"It's not like we're trying to go against anything. We're just following our captain's orders."

Jinsei smiled as he spoke. He could see that confusion was still on Svantje's face, but neither said any more on the subject. They just continued to make their way to the base.

* * *

Kanzaki Sukuu and Misó of Aftokrator were facing off ten meters away from each other.

But for someone who had already fought against Aftokrator Triggers, this could only be described as stupid. It was not that Kanzaki was too weak or the Neighbor was too strong; it was not that kind of simple dimensional question, but an even more basic and simpler paradox.

Basically, she knew nothing of this Trigger.

Figuring it out would take time.

In other words. Since Kanzaki had to use up her time figuring out Misó's Trigger, she wouldn't be able to end this fight quickly.

So Kanzaki's action was really comical.

But the Neighbor boy didn't say anything, or even show a smile of pity.

Misó raised one of his ice wings. Though they were about ten meters away from each other, it didn't matter to the twelve-meter-long water wing; instead, it may have been too close.

The ice wings that were infused with Trion from tip to tip could each send out an attack that could wreck a city. Once he sent that, this area would be destroyed completely.

Misó didn't hesitate.

Even though he knew the devastation this would cause on the area.

The Neighbor that controlled wings raised the twelve meter ice wing in the air without hesitation.

Such a scene gave a look that a tower was collapsing. The air that was ripped became a fist of air as it scattered about, until the wind itself collapsed due to the ice wing. The ice wing came swinging down at Kanzaki with shocking speed.

It was all over.

Everything should have been over.

 **BAM!**

With a clear sound, the ice wing was sliced in half by a horizontal flash.

Who could have predicted such a scene?

Misó was stunned, and Kanzaki merely took a deep breath in response.

The Trion-made blade that was hanging from Kanzaki's waist.

The moment she drew the sword, the twelve-meter-long ice wing was sliced easily like a bamboo tube. Also, the remains of the sliced ice wing immediately scattered into powder like an explosion and vanished.

Kanzaki didn't say anything.

The blade of the sword had already been sheathed silently into the black sheath.

The bangs of the Neighbor trembled slightly. The glass-ball-like eyes behind the bangs rolled about, seemingly looking for Kanzaki's weakness. Misó raised another ice wing from his back, as if it were an experiment.

This time, the ice wing swung over, and the storm it whipped up seemed like it would flatten everything.

But the same thing happened again.

 **ZZSSTT!**

Kanzaki's slash easily sliced that eleven-meter-long ice wing in half.

And Kanzaki's body hadn't wavered from the speed of the unsheathing sword or the weight. The moment the blade was drawn, it was sheathed back silently.

Ten meters away, Kanzaki calmly stroked her hilt.

The Neighbor stopped.

He seemed to be thinking of a new tactic to deal with this prey.

"I think that" Kanzaki taunted, "you don't have to be shocked about this level of counterattack. Seems like you underestimated this earthling called Kanzaki Sukuu."

Misó of Aftokrator didn't respond. What replaced it were two ice wings that crossed each other like pliers.

 **BOOM!**

The two ice wings struck at Kanzaki with a boom.

But Kanzaki flipped her body like a tornado, slashing the two water wings in half at the same time with one strike.

"..."

The bangs swayed about in the air, the eyes behind them rolled about, seemingly confirming something.

* * *

"You know, if you used your Side Effect, this might be easier for us."

"You know, it would be pointless to do that with an opponent like this."

Mei let out a sigh as she scratched her head. On one side was her and Yuki, ready for battle and right in front of their opponent. On the other side was their opponent, sporting multiple weights on her side, courtesy of Mei herself.

She had received the information about their opponent's Trigger and was already coming up with hundreds upon hundreds of strategies already. It didn't help that she still needed to keep an eye on Yuki though.

She knew they had to get the fight over with quickly for multiple reason. The main two were that they needed to go help other places; the other reason being that neither wanted the rest of their team seeing their fight.

"By the way, that Trigger of yours is very...stylish."

"Now, now. No need to be jealous. Yours is just too destructive. You know full well that's why Shinoda-san and Akasora-san forbid you from using it."

"Tsk. You're getting me a little mad now." She got in a fighting stance. "Let's just end this quickly."

"Hm? You two dating or something?"

The two Border agents turned to their opponent to see small explosions go off, and the weights destroyed.

"If so, that gives me more of a reason to beat you down, little bitch. First you say that cutie here is _your_ pet, then you put those weights on me, and you finish it off by flirting right in front of me." The crazed look came back to Pyr's face, but with a scowl instead of a grin. "I'll make you escape, then hunt you down to kill you personally, you little bitch."

"Hm. I don't want to hear that coming from a tramp like you."

Yuki couldn't help but wonder where all of this was actually going. He could basically _see_ the sparks clashing between the two females. It was actually a scary sight since Mei was already scary enough, with with Pyr ready to blow them up...

He let out a sigh and spun the pole in his hand.

The pointed end had a single blade coming out of the side to make a scythe.

'Might as well...'

He rushed at Pyr with his weapon at the ready. When he got close enough, he made a quick jump to the side as Asteroid went passed him and hit Pyr dead on.

Knowing that the attack didn't do much to her, he used some rubble as a platform to jump off into the air and bring down the scythe.

Pyr brought her hands up and grabbed the blade before tossing both it and its owner to the side. Before she could think of another attack, she noticed Mei had come up to her side with Kōgetsu going for a slash, a gun also pointed at her head.

Yuki easily landed and looked at the blade to see a '1' on one side and a '2' on the other side. He quickly spun the pole. The blunt end now how the ball back on it, the numbers were nowhere to be seen.

'So it looks like there's a weakness to this.'

He heard an explosion and turned to see Mei landing not too far from Pyr.

He pulled off his jacket and tied it around his waist.

He saw that Mei was going for another attack with her Kōgetsu while taking in her stance and way of running. Without much thought he mimicked her attack and went for Pyr's back with his own weapon.

Pyr had already noticed both attacks coming and kicked up a rock towards Mei while she turned around with her arm outstretched.

Not being able to react in time, both agents tried to get out of any fatal attacks.

Mei brought up a Shield while she jumped up.

Yuki on the other hand got his jacket from his waist and threw it in front of him. It had covered Pyr's hand and gave Yuki the chance to swat the hand away and land a hit with the weapon that had a large amount of power to it.

Not waisting time, he used his Special Teleport to appear above her with the scythe back. He slashed at her and felt the connection, but quickly jumped away when he saw a '3' on his jacket.

"You are really pissing me off now."

Pyr stood up to show her cloak and skin tight outfit recovering.

"For every hit you land, my soon-to-be pet, an hour of torture will be added."

Not bothering to listen, the two hid behind some rubble, but quickly moved so as not to be caught.

"That cloak by itself seems sturdy. Plus it can regenerate. Not sure if my Kōgetsu can cut through it," Mei said as she took a peak to see Pyr facing the opposite direction. "If I use the Lead Bullets she'll have to blow them up again, leaving spots to attack."

"Idōgetsu can cut through to her body, but only to make shallow cuts. Jikantsuki and Shingetsu are pretty strong, so that just goes to show how strong that cloak is."

"Yuki... What the name of that heavy hitter form you use?"

"...Mangetsu..."

"..."

"Don't give me that silence! You know it fits!"

"..."

"Mei-chan~~~"

"Sigh. Whatever. You've already set up a 'playground', just go crazy with the attacks."

"But-"

"Shut up and do it."

"Yes!"

 **BAM!**

The two went wide eyed when they saw two Rabbits crash land in front of them.

Quickly thinking, the two moved out of the way to dodge a punch and used their weapons to try and cut the Trion soldiers, but weren't able to get passed the hardened armor.

"Found you~~"

* * *

Three people sat in a ship, watching and monitoring everything. One was the red haired Neighbor that had lost, the other two had yet to leave the ship. They took note of the three other battles going, as well as the unplanned attack on the Border base.

The leader, who had black horns, didn't have any particular expression on his face, but he was a bit annoyed. He focused on the unplanned attack and spoke.

"Enedora. I didn't order an attack on the base itself. Our goal is solely to capture the baby birds. This is unnecessary."

 _"You're way is too slow! Crush the nest, and the small fry will be free for the taking. Makes sense, doesn't it?"_

"..."

The leader - Hairein - leaned his head a bit to the side, putting two finger sand his thumb to his face. He seemed a hit more annoyed now.

Ranbanein didn't seem fazed by this and spoke with a grin.

"Raiding the enemy fort alone? That's bold!"

"Abandoning the mission. Defying orders. Should I force him back?" the third one, also with black horns, said calmly.

"No... Now I have an excuse to recall him. Let Enedora do as he pleases. The others will manage the rest."

Ranbanein raised an eyebrow as he looked over at his captain.

"You still believe in Misó? That's a bit odd. He seems to be having trouble going against only one of Miden's warriors. I guess being there for as long as he has, even he would get rusty without using his Trigger. Actually, Pyr seems to be in the same predicament."

"You know how those two are already. Pyr seems to be getting more serious now. But you have a point on Misó. Not being able to defeat a single opponent is quite troubling."

"Maybe if you told him that he would get some 'painful reward' if he wins, he'll sweep the whole area."

"..."

Hairein was visibly displeased by that. He knew just how Misó was concerning his comrades, especially Hairein himself, and he never enjoyed being around the boy. He knew that what his brother was saying was actually true, he just didn't want to actually say that.

Misó was someone who even his own people didn't enjoy being around.

"It does seem like he's being less efficient by taking his emotions away from that body."

* * *

 **BOOM!**

Mei reacted quickly enough to put up a Shield, but not quick enough to dodge all the damage. Part of her side was blown up and she saw that the explosion was big enough to take one of Yuki's arms.

She jumped away and got a clear view of the whole scene. She could see where Pyr currently was, along with Yuki and the Rabbits. She also saw that the explosion had created large portions of the ground to be scattered around.

'I'll do that then...'

She landed on the ground with a thud and took out one of her guns.

"Hey, Kiyoshi, get that hair out of your eyes!"

From his side of the area, Yuki went a little wide eyed before smirking. He did as he was told and put the hair covering his eyes behind his ear. Along with that, he put the pole away and brought out a Scorpion.

He ran at the Rabbits and easily dodged the punches meant to hit him. He tried to cut them, but the armor was too much and didn't break.

"Oh? Does his eye have some strange power?" Pyr grinned in anticipation. "My pet sure is something~~ Hey, bitch! Why don't you leave the fighting to the real fighters?"

Pyr turned around just in time to see the tip of Kōgetsu in front of her and a gun pointed at her mid-section. She barely dodged the blade, but still got a cut on her face as more weights were added.

She let out a yell as she tried to kick Mei, but the hit was dodged.

As she flew in the air from her jump, Mei shot multiple Viper shots at the exact spots she had gotten with her Lead Bullets.

Just before the Viper got to Pyr, she had used her Trigger to get rid of the weights, leaving a spot for the attack to hit. She was shocked by the attack hitting her, but she quickly recovered and threw multiple rocks at Mei.

The rocks were quickly shot down with the explosions causing dust to rise again.

Mei used the cover to get closer again. She slashed at Pyr and managed to get a shallow cut in, as well as land a few Viper shots from behind before launching Pyr into the air using Grasshopper.

Pyr flew into the air and saw some more Viper shots coming from the side. She used some rocks she picked up to stop them, but didn't see someone above her.

Yuki had gotten above her and had the ball at the end of his weapon. He used the force of the fall to smash Pyr back towards the ground.

Instead if hitting the ground, Pyr found that she was stopped by wires that had cut through her cloak. She saw Mei shoot out more Lead Bullets and could tell the wires were now cutting through her skin-tight outfit. To finish it off, she saw Yuki starting to fall above her.

"Looks like we win."

"Don't you..." A giant '10' appeared on the ground. "Don't you underestimate me, fucking bitch!"

 **BOOOOOOOOOOM!**

The three, along with everything else, were blown away by the massive explosion.

Pyr stood without her cloak.

Yuki staggered as he put away his weapon to bring out a new one.

Mei stood there with calculating eyes.

'What happened to those damn Rabbits?'

"If you're wondering about those new models, take a look yourself."

"Hm. So that eyes does have some weird power then," Pyr said as she saw the downed Rabbits.

"Wrong. It doesn't have some strange power. It just helps me see more clearly without the hair in the way." Yuki gave a small, smug smirk. "I was just fighting you with a handicap."

"Hm. The torture will be fun..."

"By the way... Fuji is stronger than me, even with my new weapon."

"..."

Pyr went wide eyed as a slash from Kōgetsu came from the side, actually taking part of her side. Apparently Mei had gotten rid of the small, specific area with her shots and come in close to land a hit with her blade.

Mei moved back.

Without another word, the fight continued.

Mei and Yuki ran towards Pyr.

Pyr got in a fighting stance.

Yuki lowered his stance and made his way past a punch, only to put up a Shield to block an explosion.

Mei has her gun next to her. As she started to slash at her opponent, the the shots wear fired and moved around the two, trying to hit their mark. She was pushed back and the Viper attacks had hit their mark, but didn't do much damage.

Yuki quickly came back with his body covered in Scorpions. He started moving around Pyr and was able to land shallow slashes on her. He continued to get rid of one Scorpion after another when he saw a number appear on them.

The fight had turned into a simple one of punches, kicks, slashes, and explosions.

None of the fighters backed down and always seemed to be keeping up with each other.

If someone saw the scene, they would compare it to _a fight between vicious animals._

* * *

"What the heck is with these explosions?"

"If I had to guess... It's the fight Yuki-senpai is in."

"Then we need to hurry the hell up!"

The rest of the Tsukiko Squad made their way to where their leader and Operator were. They couldn't help but feel a little bit of worry when they continued on their way. As they got closer, they saw the scenery change from destroyed buildings to rubble scattered around to almost an open area.

They had faced the Trion soldiers multiple times and took out some Rabbits, but they felt as if they were traveling from their own world to a post-apocalyptic one. It didn't help that large explosions constantly shook the ground every few seconds.

"We haven't seen a Bail Out yet, so it's safe to assume that neither Mei-san or Yuki-senpai have lost. But for them to take this long with an opponent..."

"Hey, Take, have you ever seen Mei fight? I know Suzume hasn't, but you've been with them longer than either of us," Toby asked as he chopped down some weaker Trion soldiers, like they were suppose to do.

"...No. I came in a little after Mei-san became Yuki-senpai's Operator. I heard them speak about trying before, but have never actual seen then go at it," Takeshi answered as he shot more down.

"I bet she look really cool when she fight." Suzume shot a few more enemies.

"If she trained with Yuki then of course she'd look cool!"

"But why would she switch from being a Combatant to an Operator? If she really is that good, then wouldn't it be better if she was fighting?"

"Good point. Maybe we can ask them about it when all of this is done."

"Yeah... Let's speed up. We also need to help around other places as well."

"Roger!"

* * *

It wasn't just one or two, four ice wings had been sliced. It was obvious that this wasn't a random coincidence. But if so, this formed a question. How could Kanzaki manage that against such a Trigger?

On the other hand, Kanzaki looked rather casual.

"You believe that I'm just a simple agent, and that's the beginning of your mistakes."

Kanzaki confidently explained.

"I am a B-Rank agent who has the skills of an A-Rank. I have not moved up yet because I am not a part of a squad, and _not_ because I don't have the skills."

It wasn't that she didn't want to be in a squad, but rather it was all because she didn't want to disappoint a squad she would be on. She would try her best, and even win with just her alone, but that was the issue. Since she was so strong, failure was not an option for her. She would be held in high regards and would easily be seen as the squad's ace, which meant that there would be pressure out on her.

She was too kind and respective to allow others see her fail.

In other words, since she was such a person, she didn't want to join any squad asking her to join. She wanted to make sure her squad was one that could hold their own without her many styles of fighting. That also meant...

If aggressive attacks wouldn't work, she'd use speed attacks.

If speed attacks wouldn't work, she'd use defensive attacks.

If defensive attacks wouldn't work, she'd use aggressive attacks.

She was an agent who could take out a squad by herself by switching from one form of attack to another in an instant. She made up for every weakness she could.

Misó of Aftokrator looked frozen. Three ice wings came swinging over the left and right.

But the ice wings were still easily sliced by Kanzaki's sword flash.

"Trying to beat me while not feeling the worry or wary of my attacks is pointless. I have trained with our top agents in both a Trion body as well as my real body. Someone who hasn't even seen my best fights, regardless of what Triggers they have, can't hope to understand what is going on. It took even people like Tatsuhito and Kei a while to get what was happening."

Kanzaki deliberately stroked Kōgetsu.

"Thus, it may be hard for a Neighbor with only general images. In my real body, I train using a nodachi. It weighs more than Kōgetsu, so quick and powerful moves are easy to deliver."

Kanzaki Sukuu said that casually.

She was declaring to the Neighbor that this wouldn't be a one-sided battle.

"..."

Misó stared at the enemy silently. Absorbing new water, the sliced ice wings were restored to their old shape and size.

But for Kanzaki, she didn't need any preparations. She just needed to use her fingers to lightly stroke the hilt of the Trion-made sword at her waist.

Silence.

After a few seconds.

The Neighbor from Aftokrator and the B-Rank agent of Border started their duel with a few things on the line.

 **BOOM!**

A roar could be heard.

The Neighbor sent a twelve-meter-long ice wing sliding down from above, and it was sliced in half by Kanzaki, who was 10m in front of him.

But the Neighbor didn't mind. No matter how many ice wings were cut, he could repair them. This time, the ice wing swung over from the left, trying to use the time Kanzaki was undefended while she was sheathing her sword.

After Kanzaki sliced this attack, the next attack from the right was aimed at Kanzaki's back.

Misó and Kanzaki were about ten meters away from each other. The Neighbor seemed like he wanted to maintain that distance and continued to attack Kanzaki with the ice wings to prevent Kanzaki from getting close.

Kanzaki spun her body and turned her head around, slicing the ice wing behind her with one slash. Seeing this, three ice wings of the Neighbor from Aftokrator attacked from the air, each with a slight time interval between them.

Even though there was a time interval, the difference was measured by only a few seconds. An ordinary person couldn't really sense that kind of speed. A human needed 0.18 seconds to process the command from the brain to the fingers, so there was still some time between the commands and the attacks being delt.

 **ZAN!**

The first ice wing of the trio was slashed by Kanzaki's Senku.

Before the next second arrived, Kanzaki had already sheathed the Kōgetsu and prepared for the next attack.

Too easy, Kanzaki smiled in that time, but at that moment...

The second ice wing actually exploded by itself.

Numerous blades that looked small broken pieces of glass were fired at Kanzaki.

"What...?"

Just as Kanzaki was trying to deal with the torrent of blades, the third ice wing rushed over at a speed faster than the torrent of blades.

"...Ugh!"

Kanzaki was barely able to slash that unexpected third wing, but Kanzaki didn't have enough time to sheath the sword. If she sheathed it, she wouldn't be able to deal with the torrent of blades that were coming at her. Kanzaki gave up on that Trigger and used the drawn sword to deal with the torrent of blades.

But it was impossible to block all the thousands of the blades with a sword.

Seventeen of the blades landed around Kanzaki (Though being able to knock them all away was already an unbelievable skill on its own). The boom caused a shockwave like explosion, and the dust and debris surrounding her to whipped up.

Her vision was completely taken away by the wall of dust and debris, like a storm.

At that moment, the ice wings attacked from the left, right, and front right direction, ripping through the sand wall like paper doors.

At that moment, the trend for the battle was set.

Kanzaki and Misó were ten meters away from each other. In other words, Kanzaki couldn't attack Misó, but Misó could attack Kanzaki.

And under the quick attacks of the Neighbor, Kanzaki didn't even have time to put her drawn sword back into the sheath. She couldn't use Senku, so Kanzaki could only swing her sword desperately. Anyone could tell that Kanzaki was at the disadvantage there.

Kanzaki gritted her teeth.

She was as skilled as an A-Rank agent.

In Kanzaki's time in Border, the number of times she had lost in a one on one matchup wasn't that high. And also, the 'one on one' didn't just mean B-Rank vs. B-Rank. Most of the time, it had been top A-Rank vs. B-Rank.

But such a record seemed like it was going to be tested heavily today.

The record that could be easily counted seemed like it was not going to be enough.

However...

There was a huge question mark over whether the battle against that Neighbor, who had an unknown and powerful Trigger, should count.

 **DOGAGAGAGAZAZAZAZA!**

Every second, there would be four or five ice wings sliced apart in sparks.

The Neighbor didn't want to give Kanzaki any time to rest. He continued to swing the ice wings at a terrifying speed, intending to let the battle become a battle of attrition and wear Kanzaki down to the point of having no more Trion. Kanzaki didn't even have a second to rest. The numerous ice wings seemed like creatures with a life of their own as they attacked Kanzaki with all sorts of angles, directions, speed and time intervals.

At that moment, there seemed to be something in Kanzaki's hand under the sunlight.

With the sound of the cement being pierced, multiple wires shot out.

Spider.

Of course, facing the ice wings that were thoroughly infused with Trion, mere wires wouldn't work. Even though they were wires that not many used, made of Trion of course, they would be easily cut like a real spiderweb.

But the moment the wires were cut, the speed of the ice wings would decrease.

Even though the feeble resistance would only cause the ice wings to slow down by a second.

However...

In this battle, that instant was enough to give another four or five blows.

"Tsk!"

Misó rolled his eyeballs. He got careless and cut the wires, causing the ice wings to slow down. Of course, Kanzaki wouldn't let that single second gap off. She raised her sword horizontally and quickly dashed forward-

-But at that moment, Kanzaki's legs lost their balance.

'...?'

The Neighbor used that time to readjust its attacks and swung out three consecutive ice wings attacks, but Kanzaki still managed to slice them with terrifying speed and accuracy. But at that moment, Misó realized something.

Kanzaki was wavering, if only just a bit.

Even if she was considered someone with A-Rank potential, having to face such an opponent on her own was putting a sort of mental burden on her. The best she could do was wait for backup to arrive, but that seemed hard on its own when there are other Neighbors running around.

Misó continued to attack mercilessly with the ice wings as he stared at Kanzaki's face. The hand that was holding onto the hilt of the sword was trembling a bit.

Misó continued to swing the ice wings as the effects of this battle were finally showing. If it kept the battle going, Kanzaki would mentally wear herself out. Under the fast and slow attacks of the Neighbor, Kanzaki's body finally started to waver.

Misó ordered the ice wings behind him, intending to deal Kanzaki the final blow.

But Kanzaki stared at the Neighbor with such sharpness in her eyes.

"...TOO SLOW!"

What was supposed to be the last ice wing released by the Neighbor was hacked in half by Kanzaki.

Kanzaki didn't stop.

With such savage and suicidal intent, she continued to hack at the ice wings one by one, not letting up.

Kanzaki Sukuu was holding off the Neighbor's attacks, getting closer to Bail Out.

If she continued to fight like this, she would get mentally tired and fall apart. Her Trion body wouldn't feel the fatigue but her real body would feel the brunt of that fatigue once she left that Trion-made body.

There was no way to know how long Kanzaki could last. If a singe attack landed, Kanzaki would Bail Out.

"But-"

Kanzaki gritted her teeth, ripping the two ice wings that attacked in a tornado like manner.

"-So what?"

Kanzaki continued to swing the sword like a storm, slashing numerous ice wings.

She definitely couldn't let the traitorous Neighbor get through.

She just had to wait for someone - anyone - to come and assist in any way possible. Whether it was an army of B-Ranks, or the best A-Ranks, as long as they got there soon.

She definitely couldn't let Misó get through!

She slashed the ice wings from outside. Even if she was scarred thoroughly, Kanzaki still gritted her teeth and held onto the sword, making numerous slashes every second when it was supposed to be impossible; she was slashing the ice wings multiple times within a few second and preparing for the next attack.

"-Ha, AAAHHH!"

Kanzaki exhaled, and the sword swung out, slicing two ice wings. The retracted blade lashed out again and attacked a third ice wing. After defending against numerous attacks, Kanzaki was gradually beginning to feel that this battle would not last for long.

Kanzaki would most likely lose. Even though she had managed to keep up with these attacks, she couldn't possibly remain unharmed through the vicious attacks of the ice wings.

But Kanzaki wouldn't give up that easily. The moment she slowed down, the ice wings belonging to Misó would slow down. If she used that chance she could deliver a solid hit to the Neighbor.


	16. Invasion: Part 6

**I apologize in advance for this chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 16:** Invasion: Part 6

* * *

"I'll give you two credit... Only Enedora has pissed me off this much with a fight..."

Mei and Yuki simply stared at their opponent.

While they had their Border approved Triggers, she had a dangerous one that made anything and everything she touched explode.

It didn't help that both sides were starting to getting irritated with the ongoing fight.

They were at an impasse though since Yuki and Mei were being careful to stay away from the explosions while Pyr was being careful but making everything explode.

It took Yuki, who had just clicked his tongue, going into action for things to change up a bit.

He held his hand up as a green blade formed. He grabbed it and rushed forward.

He was gone in an instant, reappearing behind Pyr with his blade only a few inches away from her head.

The attacked was easily dodged, forcing Yuki had to teleport away before he could get touched by the hand that was aiming for his face.

Having reappeared in front of his opponent, he lifted his leg with a green blade made of Trion coming from the end of his foot.

Pyr grabbed the blade and a '1' appeared on it.

It took only a few seconds for Yuki to jump back while getting rid of the green blade at the end of his foot.

It was now Mei's turn to appear in the fight.

'...When looking at them head on, all attacks fall into three basic categories: piercing attacks or cannons are points, slashes are lines, and area attacks are planes.'

Mei and Yuki's mentor had taught her that. Even throws and grappling were points or lines before one was grabbed. According to their mentor, once one understood that everything fell under those two categories plus the planes created by different attacks, the rest was easy.

Points were fast, but one only had to shift the area that would be hit and move forward.

Lines were long, but one only had to duck under that path and move forward.

Planes were wide, but one only had to circle around outside their range and move forward.

The rest was an issue of size and speed, but there were only ever three things to do.

Thinking of it that way, the explosions were planes and the slashes were lines. If one did not fear the sound of firing and took the shockwave into account, any of those attacks coming could be avoided. And...

"...!"

Mei arrived in a lowered posture by accelerating as if stretching forward.

She made sure to give Pyr no time to actually defend herself and brought her blade up, landing a real hit against the humanoid Neighbor.

She jumped back and saw that Yuki had come up from the other side and aka aged to do the same thing Mei did.

The plan was now set.

For an opponent who didn't know how Yuki or make fought this would he difficult to handle. The two were able to easily mix together different Triggers for fast and precise strikes that only the best could dodge or block.

But even if they were the best, they would still have trouble going up against both the #1 and #2 agents likely to destroy the surrounding area with their Triggers.

That was proven when Mei had been able to land another hit on Pyr.

Mei had cut Pyr's right side.

Yuki copied it and cut her left.

Mei tried to cut her mid-section but was blocked.

Yuki copied it and cut her back.

Mei jumped back and used Viper.

Yuki copied it and used Asteroid.

The mirror attacks continued on as Pyr's anger increased. For every hit Mei got on her, Yuki was able to get the opposite side.

It didn't matter what Trigger the opponent was using, these two were crazy in their own right. Their teamwork wasn't as good as Kazama Squad or Azuma Squad, but that was only because they always ended up competing with each other.

Pyr's anger started to reach it's the limit.

She slammed her foot on the ground like a child and a giant "1" appeared on the ground.  
The whole area was caught in a flash just before the massive explosion.

Not only did dust and debris go flying but so did large parts if the ground.

Thinking she had won, Pyr let out a laugh.

She was silenced when she was launched back into the air. That's where she saw that Yuki was also in the air.

"This probably won't take you down, but it should do some good damage to you."

Mei was behind Pyr and got her in a headlock while trapping the Neighbor's arms with her feet.

"Meteora."

Once again, the area was filled with explosions. This time it was not from the angered humanoid Neighbor, though.

This time it was to take her out for good.

.

 **Bail Out.**

Yuki watched as a flash sped through the air.

He got ready to attack again for another one-on-one battle.

Both he and Mei had known that a simple attack like that wouldn't be able to take out their opponent, but that wasn't why it had been done.

Once the smoke started to clear that fact was obvious.

Pyr standing there with only minor injuries to her Trion body.

"Sorry, Yuki. I couldn't take her out."

"It's fine. I know you had other things on your mind, Mei."

"Just to let you know... They finally arrived."

"About time."

.

"You...fucking...shits..."

It was easy to see just how mad that single attack had gotten Pyr.

The Neighbor started to stalk forward while multiple rocks could be seen being tossed into the air.

With a good amount of power, she threw the rocks straight at Yuki.

"I'll make sure you go down now!"

A large grin could be seen on Pyr's face.

She would win.

That was her mission and she would complete it.

She wouldn't-

"Asteroid."

A large laser-like beam quickly came down from the sky and took the rocks inside them.

"Hedgehog!"

Getting over her momentary shock, Pyr jumped up just in time to dodge multiple Green blades made of Trion that tried to slice her body.

"Honestly."

A small flash sped through the air.

Without any sort of balance in the air, Pyr got shot in her mid-section.

The shot had been aimed at her head for a quick win, but she had used a small explosion to twist herself before it hit.

As she landed on the ground she picked up rocks and threw them in Yuki's direction.

They were quickly shot.

She glared forward while picking up for rocks.

"Nice to fine have you guys here."

"I'm sorry we're late, Senpai."

"We tried to get here quickly, but had to deal with the other Neighbors!"

"We'll honestly try our best to make it up to you."

"It's fine. You're here now and that's what matters. Now let's finish this before any more damage is done."

"Roger, Captain!"

There, in front of Pyr, was the full Tsukiko Squad.

She was having trouble with only Yuki and Mei.

Having the whole team there would mean...

It would mean...

"Suicide bombing it is then."

* * *

'This really isn't good...'

That was all Kanzaki could do as she continued to block and dodge the large wings of ice that were aimed right at her.

She had been hearing explosions going off not too far away and wanted to see what was going on. That was clearly hard to do though as her current opponent was still standing in front of her.

She had yet to take a single hit yet, but at the same time, she had yet to make a single hit.

"What am I to do. I can't beat him at this rate. I'll have to take a hit of a risk here if I want to do anything at all."

It was all she could think of to do.

Under normal circumstances Misó would not stand a chance against Kanzaki, but now that he was using a Trigger that created large wings of ice things were made much harder.

Kanzaki was able to defend herself and destroy the wings in a matter of seconds, but the wings would just form again in the same amount of seconds.

"Right."

Kanzaki took a single step forward.

She would draw her sword faster than before and strike down her opponent.

It was her job as a Border agent to defend Mikado City from anything that came through a Gate. She didn't know when Misó had come through a Gate but she did know that he was her enemy. That meant she would give this her all.

.

Just as Kanzaki took a step forward a figure appeared behind Misó with a green blade in their grasp.

The figure moved their arms with the blade creating an arced slash, destroying one of the wings as it connected.

Kanzaki was a bit shocked at who had suddenly attacked.

She saw one of the other wings move to attack the figure and prepared herself to cut the wing before it could reach the figure.

Before she could move, an invisible force seemed to push on the wing. The same force also seemed to grab the figure since the figure just flew through the air before landing next to Kanzaki.

"What an irritation."

Kanzaki turned her head to see the captain of Hikigane Squad walking up to her while scratching his head.

"I would think you would know better than to try something stupid like that."

The former A-Rank captain didn't speak to Kanzaki. He was speaking to the figure that was now next to Kanzaki.

"You're lucky that Minoru was able to catch you when he did."

As he spoke, the figure looked down a bit as a man suddenly appeared next to the figure.

Hogo Oshiro didn't say anything and continued to look down.

Next to him stood Hatohara Minoru. He had been the invisible force that pushed the wing away and saved Oshiro.

That was when Kanzaki noticed something.

She quickly turned back to Misó and noticed that he was trying to move the wings but was unable to do so for some reason.

That was when she started to see them.

Wires.

"I see. You had been spreading out a lot of thick wires so that it would be harder for him to attack with those large wings. You took that as a chance to take out of the wings but had to get away from another free one."

"..."

Oshiro continued to say nothing and just turned to Misó.

Sekai let out a long sigh as he also turned his attention to the Neighbor.

"First we come to help, then we learn that the base is being attacked. Now we have to deal with this kind of irritation. ...Whatever. At least I sent those three straight to the base just in case."

"For now let's focus on this. I have to say, though, I'm not really shocked that Misó turned out to he a traitor."

"Please watch what you say."

Kanzaki took a slight glance at Oshiro to see that he was still standing there.

"It's fine."

He finally spoke up.

"Minoru-senpai is right. This should have been seen right from the start. Also... I apologize, Kanzaki-san. I left you alone to deal with him."

"That's fine. I'm the one who-"

"I'm his captain. That means I need to take responsibility for this and take him out. Which means... I would really appreciate it if you three would support me as I do my duty."

It was the others' turn to stay silent.

They didn't need to say anything else, though.

Minoru was quickly gone from their sights while both Kanzaki and Sekai got their blades ready.

As they got ready for the fight, Misó finished destroying the last of the wires and surrounding buildings. He was now free and ready to attack.

'Here I go.'

Oshiro run forward.

He ran straight and fast.

As he did so three ice wings went in to take him out.

"Senku."

Two arced slashes appeared next to Oshiro and destroyed the ice wing on the right and the ice wing on the left. That just left the middle one.

"Grasshopper."

A blue plate appeared in the air in front of Oshiro.

Oshiro stepped over the plate before placing his foot on it.

He accelerated forward at high speed and got his sword ready to cut through his former comrade and current opponent.

The middle ice wing stabbed the ground and appeared to be stuck.

Oshiro twisted his leg as he took a step and brought his sword up.

"Senku!"

An arced slash came from his blade and cut right through the ice wing.

Knowing that he would lose his balance if he continued forward, Oshiro let himself start to fall to the ground. As he did another blue plate was placed under him.

He extended his arm out to touched the blue plate on the ground, sending him high into the air.

He got his blade ready again and brought it down.

His attacked was blocked by two ice wings.

"...!"

Seeing two more ice wings coming from the right and left, Oshiro used the two wings that had stopped him as a springboard and moved back, making the two attacking ice wings hit the two defending ice wings.

The four destroyed ice wings started to reform in a matter of seconds.

As they did so four green blades flew through the air and struck the ends of the forming ice.

.

Kanzaki ran on the left side while Sekai ran on the right side.

The two were quick to destroy the wings that were coming after them.

Now that there were other skilled agents, Kanzaki didn't have to worry about moving forward. She didn't have to worry as much about her attacks not making it through. She could focus completely on winning and supporting her current teammates.

She easily noticed that each time she or Sekai destroyed an ice wing a green blade would come from almost nowhere and get stuck in the wings as they reformed.

'So that's what we're going to do.'

Nothing needed to be said.

Plans were always made before a fight, or when there was a chance to catch one's breath. That didn't seem to be the case her, though. These four agents were skilled enough to create a plan as they moved and didn't need to speak to each other to notice things that another person was doing.

A plan was already being put into motion and all four of them knew what it was.

Hatohara Minoru was an A-Rank agent with only an Operator.

Hikigane Sekai was a former A-Rank captain that would almost always improvise with his squad.

Kanzaki Sukuu was a B-Rank agent with skills of an A-Rank who had held her own against this opponent.

Hogo Oshiro was a B-Rank captain who would gladly use himself as a shield for others.

They were all different with different skills and different ways of fighting, but that didn't mean they couldn't work as well as any squad that had been together for a year or two.

It was their way of thinking that helped them figure out what was going on.

.

"It's all set. Hero, we're leaving the finishing blow to you."

Oshiro nodded his head, knowing that Minoru could see him from his spot.

Even while he was in the air, Oshiro managed to move around and deflect attack after attack from the wings made of ice that continued to surround him.

He was able to see Kanzaki and Sekai on the ground and saw them take a glance up at him.

Oshiro saw two more ice wings cross each other before attacking him like a pair of large scissors.

A thick Shield appeared under Oshiro and let him use it as a springboard, sending him higher into the air.

"Alright. I would appreciate it if you could do it now."

A cube of Trion appeared next to Oshiro before splitting up into smaller cubes.

"Viper."

The cubes of Trion flew off and headed for Misó while he was trying to attack all four of them.

From his spot in the air, Oshiro could see more green lights flying through the air.

Each green light looked like it was aiming for Misó, but that wasn't true.

Each green light was actually flying around until it found the green blades made of Trion that had been placed in the reforming ice.

Once the blades were hit by the flying lights, the rest followed after and proceeded to destroy the wings by having each shot fired hit the exact same spot.

At the same time, Kanzaki and Sekai used their blades to unleash arced slashes one after another so they could cut the remaining wings made of ice.

"Go."

A blue plate appeared above Oshiro.

He placed his foot on it before spreading towards the ground.

He only had a few seconds before the wings if ice would reform. In that time he would deal the final blow and defeat this opponent that Kanzaki had been dealing with.

.

It took only a few seconds for Oshiro to reach Misó.

He brought his blade down as hard as he could and sliced right through Misó right side.

Once he landed he twisted his foot and turned around to deliver five more slashes, cutting up Misó more and more.

He only stopped once Misó fell to the ground in his real body.

"Aw~ Was that punishment~? I took the emotions away from that body but I could still feel, the pain~ Aw~ It's leaving a tingling feeling~ Ah! I think this kind of feeling is enough for me to ejac-"

Misó has silenced right away when he saw red.

"Huh? Did you...?"

Misó looked up at the figure that was now standing before him.

He saw his former captain standing there, Kōgetsu in hand and blood on the blade.

"This pain... Aaaaaahhhhhhh! Truly great! Please, captain, give me more!"

Oshiro lifted his blade above his head.

His eyes looked as dull as Misó had been when he was fighting against the Border agents.

"Hogo, stop!"

Kanzaki was the one who shouted.

She ran forward to stop the B-Rank agents from taking the lift of the traitor.

"...!?"

Before he could attack, Oshiro felt something.

He looked down to see a Kōgetsu blade piercing the area where his heart would be. In this case, it was piercing his Trion supply.

That only meant...

 **Bail Out**

Misó watched with wide eyes as his former captain turned into light before flying off in the direction of the Border base.

"Hey! Sekai! Why did you send him off!? I would have gotten so much more-"

"That's about enough."

Misó turned his head to see a hole open up in the air behind him.

Another two blade holes appeared in front of him and made Sekai jump back so he wouldn't get hit.

Standing in the large hole in the air was a woman with red hair that had a black sphere hovering above the palm of her hand.

"You're lucky. We need you for information, so we'll just be taking you back with us."

"Huh~? But Mira-"

"Oh. And make sure you bring that with you."

As she spoke, the Neighbor with red hair pointed to the arm that was in the puddle of blood.

Misó let out a sigh as he stood up.

He picked up his arm and took a step into the hole.

As it started to close he turned back to the three Border agents.

"Tell my former captain that I had fun with him~ I'm sure he'll be thrilled~"

That was all the three Border agents heard before the hole closed completely.

There was a moment of silence.

The one to break it was Sekai, who had let out a sigh.

"Alright. That's about as much as we can do. As things stand now, there isn't much we can really do at the moment. The final opponents aren't ones close-range fighters can really deal with. And before you say anything, I have a feeling that even with your Viper you wouldn't do much, Minoru."

"Thanks for the support."

"I'm just saying it how it is. Your real skill is Chameleon and close-ranged combat. That means it's best for you not to go either."

Letting out another sigh, Sekai looked over at Kanzaki.

"Now then..."

.

Kanzaki could only give a hard look at the blood that was on the ground.

A drastic change.

That was the only way she could describe what she saw.

There was a drastic change in the way Oshiro acted and fought.

And there was no way that the change was for the better.

"Kanzaki, don't focus on him right now. Even if we won't be much help in the main fight, there are still the Trion soldiers that need to be taken care of. Once this is done, you can go and see him yourself."

Kanzaki only nodded her head and started to run with the other two.

Now was the time to help as begs as they could.

That meant keeping her mind off of Oshiro for the time being.

* * *

"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!"

Kimura Kawaguchi and Teikō Hitsugi had never seen something like what they just saw from their captain.

They both felt angry and a bit hurt that Misó turned out to be a traitor, but they had never thought of actually hurting him to that degree. What's more was that they knew he would enjoy the pain even if they did hurt him.

But that wasn't the case with their captain.

Oshiro had used his blade to slice off one of Misó arms.

Now here he was, slamming his fists into the wall with as much power he could use.

Both Kimura and Hitsugi tried to stop him, but he turned out to be stronger than the both of them. He didn't lay a hand on either one if them, but he had been able to get free from their grips and start trying to destroy the wall with his bare hands.

"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!"

With each hit on the wall the two winced. They could hear unpleasant cracks from his fist now and they were getting more and more worried.

They both went back to trying to stop him from hurting himself any more than he already had.

It didn't matter now at this point. They both knew he would need to take a trip to the hospital once this was all over.

* * *

In the end, the invasion ended with multiple C-Rank agents missing, no agent dead, and one agent critically injured.

On the other side of that, there had been one Neighbor that had been killed and another that had lost an arm.

What's more, rewards had been given to the agents who fought hard to defend Mikado City.

One squad, though, now had a major problem.

That single squad had a member who turned out to be a traitor and now their captain was banned from using his Trigger until told otherwise.

That left two girls in the squad to just sit and wait things out.

* * *

 **I apologize for this terrible ending to the invasion! The thing is that there isn't anything else for Hogo Squad or even Kanzaki during the invasion! But the invasion will be finished for the SS remake!**

 **I also want to apologize for this turning...weird? Odd? Sorta too serious? Well... Anyways!**

 **Until next time... See ya!**


	17. Sumiharu Inukai

**I APOLOGIZE FOR THIS CHAPTER!**

* * *

 **Chapter 17:** Sumiharu Inukai

* * *

It has been three days since the large scale invasion and many things went on.

The creation of the new Yagura Branch had happened.

Border got flak from the press about the whole thing.

News of two skilled agents returning to Mikado City spread around like wildfire.

Then there was the news that a certain squad had disbanded.

But even that last fact was not something Inukai Sumiharu was thinking about. He had something else that was much more important to him than any of those things.

He had not seen his boyfriend at all since the day before the invasion.

Inukai and the rest of Ninomiya Squad had not been aloud to help out in the invasion since their squad could not gather all its members for one reason or another. That was an order that Director Shinoda Masafumi himself gave so there was no way that Ninomiya Squad could disobey it.

That itself was an issue since Inukai had been having a bad feeling the whole time the invasion was going on. He had a good reason to worry.

He had heard about Misó.

Even Inukai, one of the friendliest people in Border, never felt like being anywhere around the former Border agent. He had always wanted to keep Oshiro away from that evil-minded guy but that would not happen when Oshiro was far too kind to do anything to hurt others.

"Shiro-chan is definitely too nice for his own good. Even with me, he was too stubborn to kick Misó out of his squad..."

Inukai would not hold something like this over Oshiro and say things like "I told you so." or "You should have listened to me." It just was not who he was. Instead he would make sure that his loved one would forget about his former squad member as much as he could.

He would shower Oshiro in love. He would do anything he could. Anything at all!

That is...

"How the heck can I do that when I can't even find him!? He doesn't answer his phone! _And_ he isn't at any of his usual places!"

Inukai had also been told that Oshiro was banded from doing his Border duties and would have his Trigger taken away, he just wasn't given the reason for it. There was also the threat of his squad being forcibly disbanded.

This was another reason Inukai was a bit desperate to find his missing boyfriend.

He wanted to know everything.

When Hatohara Mirai had left, that had caused issue for multiple people. When it concerned the squad he is in, they had been demoted to B-Rank. That was bad, but they managed and continued on.

 _That guy... Even though she only left, he fought against us and blatantly helped the enemy. It isn't a far stretch to think that they may get disbanded or even forced out of Border. Since Shiro-chan is the captain, he'll end up with the most amount of problems._

It was not just official problems he was thinking about. Most people knew about Misó and who his captain was, there was no way that they would not go after Oshiro knowing that one of his squad members was a traitor.

Inukai would be there for Oshiro, but that did not mean others would.

 _Now where is he...?_

That was exactly why he was going to the very last place he would think Oshiro would be.

It was a place most would think would be the first place, but Inukai knew Oshiro better than most so he knew what would really be the first and what would really be the last.

That meant he knew that the last place Oshiro would be was his own squad's operating room.

"If he isn't here... We may have some issue..."

Taking in an uncharacteristic breath, Inukai opened the door, hoping to see his overly kind boyfriend with his two remaining squad members around him.

What he saw instead made him worry more.

Once he entered the room he saw Hogo Squad's Shooter and Operator just sitting down, looking like they did not know where they were. They both looked extremely lost while staring off into nothing.

Inukai took a cautious step forward, wary of any hostility that may be lingering.

"...He-"

Before the first word even left his mouth, Hitsugi was in front of him with a look of anger mixed with desperation.

Inukai knew where this was going to go.

"So he hasn't come by here either..."

It was Kimura who spoke up from her spot at her desk.

"No. We were hoping that he had contacted you by now. We can't get a hold of him and we can't track his Trigger because... Well, you know."

"Yeah."

Inukai looked between the two girls and thought about how next words carefully. He knew that he would be going into something that could cause them to go for his throat, but without Oshiro contacting him he had no way of knowing.

While a certain squad in Border had disbanded, this squad could be forced to separate against their will.

It was all up to the ones in charge who determined who was to blame and who would be punished.

Until then, there was nothing the remaining Hogo Squad or Inukai could do.

Waiting was their only option.

The two girls looked down while Inukai tried to come up with something that may help them.

He could come up with nothing at the moment and decided to just turn his head.

"...?"

When he turned his head he noticed something odd.

Off to the side, in the other room, a small German Shepard pup sleeping soundly in a small doggy bed.

 _That's odd... Krümel never likes to sleep in his own bed if Shiro-chan or Taka isn't around..._

In two seconds after the thought crossed his mind Inukai rushed over to the third room that contained the mats for Hogo Squad to use after Bail Out.

The pup, upon hearing the footsteps quickly getting closer, jumped up and ran into the room.

The two members of Hogo Squad looked over to where Inukai had run off to and quickly followed him.

"Haru-sa-? What's with the sudden hug!? H-hey, why- OW! Ow, ow, ow... That hurt..."

Once the two girls entered the room they saw Inukai hugging their captain as hard as he could while the younger boy seemed to be messaging his back.

.

Oshiro looked passed his boyfriend's shoulder to see the two girls looking down at them.

He looked to the right and saw Krümel sitting there, just watching them with a slightly tilted head.

Not knowing what was going on, he started patting Inukai on the back.

"Um... Haru-san, are you okay? And why does Hitsu-chan look like she wants to strangle me right now?"

Being the only calm one at the moment, Kimura was left to answer any questions that were brought up.

"The reason Inukai-senpai was choking you with his hug is because you've been MIA since the invasion. The reason Teikō wants to strangle you is for the same reason."

"Huh? What do you mean MIA? I've been here and there, and there and here since the invasion. I was wondering why I hadn't seen either of you around, but thought that you just didn't want to see me."

"And why didn't you answer your phone?"

"It broke when Onii-san accidentally stepped on it. I was planning on getting a new one later. Sorry."

After his explaination, the other three in the room let out simultaneous sighs.

Inukai got up from his spot and helped Oshiro up.

He saw Krümel walk up to them and lifted him into his arms while looking down and speaking.

"Well, now that finally found you, there's some things we want to know."

"... I figured..."

* * *

After getting themselves comfortable in the room, the four started talking.

"So, what do you want to know first? I'm assuming that no one has told you two anything yet."

Kimura shook her head from her spot at her computer.

"No. As far as we know the only things going on are things that have going around as rumors. Any rumors going on about our squad seem to be rivaling that of the rumors concerning a certain squad disbanding."

"I see..."

Oshiro let out a small sigh as he leaned into Inukai.

"Alright then... I guess I'll start by telling you the status of our squad."

Everyone held their breath.

"Our squad is to be disbanded..."

Before anyone could say their thoughts, they were interrupted by Oshiro.

"That is how it should have been. I was the only one who was brought in because Hitsu-chan was forced to Bail Out by... _him..._ While Kawa-chan was just the Operator and lost contact with _him_ when he turned off his Trigger."

None of them missed the way Oshiro addressed their former squad member.

Inukai took note of the bitterness in his tone when he was mentioning Misó.

"I was the only one left at the time, so that was why I was brought in. I explained what had happened, but... They brought up a good point. That is... As his former captain I didn't do anything to stop him right away. Things only got going once Kanzaki-san come along and started fighting. I ended up leaving it to her and not doing anything."

"You did help, though."

"Not in the slightest. It was because of Kanzaki-san, Minoru-senpai and Hikigane-san that _he_ was defeated. I hardly did anything."

"You're the one who was fighting the hardest once it was a four-on-one match. There's no way they didn't take note of that."

"How I dealt with _him_ was also brought up..."

Kimura and Hitsugi looked away, each with different but painful expressions.

Inukai tilted his head to the side while looking from the girls to Krümel, back to the girls.

"Is there something I should know about?"

At hearing the question, Oshiro tried to move away from the body next to him but the arm around his shoulder kept him in place, even going so far as to pull him closer.

"Once Misó was in his real body... He was being his usual pain-ecstasy self and..."

"I cut his arm off."

Inukai went wide eyed and looked down at Oshiro, who was looking anywhere the other three weren't.

"Hikigane-san made me Bail Out because I cut anything else off."

Even as he looked away, Oshiro's tone didn't sound like someone who was ashamed by what he had done.

He sounded like he wanted to do it again.

Deciding that it was best to get off the subject, Inukai started asking about what they are to do now.

Oshiro let out another sigh and continued.

"The three I mentioned before had helped us by explaining that _he_ was the only one involved with that. The three of us had nothing to do with _him,_ and we were really just there because he needed us as protection from other agents."

That made sense to them.

If things didn't go his way then he could just play it off as a Trion soldier going after them while he waited.

He was using Hogo Squad as a shield. Although this shield was not used properly and the way that it would want to be used.

It was a smart move by Misó.

That was what pissed the girls off the most. The fact they were used in such a way.

Inukai was also pissed by that fact, but he hid it so Oshiro would not feel worse.

"In the end... We can continue to be a squad, but... We will be watched carefully for a while. They said it was to make sure that we truly weren't a part of what happened. Also... I will be forced to give up my Trigger when I am not on defense duty."

As he spoke, Oshiro twirled his white hair between his index finger and thumb.

"Really, that's all. Nothing more and nothing less. Heh. We got off really lucky. I really need to thank those three for vouching for us. Maybe becoming their slave or something will work..."

Once he was done speaking, Oshiro was asleep.

Inukai looked over to Kimura and Hitsugi and saw that they both looked like they wanted to hit something while also let out a loud yell to get everything out.

He wanted to do the same thing, but he knew that what he was feeling was more like second- hand anger than anything else. What those two girls were feeling was pure rage.

Whether that rage was directed towards Misó or the directors was something he didn't know.

 _Well, at least now I can smother him with affection._

* * *

"Thank you very much for helping Shiro-chan and his squad out! If there is anything you need then just ask!"

To say she was confused was an understatement.

Kanzaki could not give a proper reply to the boy who was performing a perfect dogeza in front of her. All she did was stare down at him.

After a few seconds her brain started working properly again.

"You can stand up now. People are really starting to stare now."

Doing as he was told, Inukai stood up.

Kanzaki let out a small sigh as she rubbed her forehead.

"Now then, tell me again why you were doing that."

"Shiro-chan had said that you helped him out when he was talking to the directors. I want to thank you for that."

"There is no need for that. Hogo has helped out as much as he could to everyone he could, so it's only natural that someone helps him out when he needs it. As a matter of fact, the rest of us should be thanking you for being with him for so long and helping him when you can."

"I don't really think you can compare us like that. You're helping him out for a more honorable reason. I help him out because I selfishly want to see him happy. I'm just being a good boyfriend. Overall, I'm really being selfish because I want to see him smile as much as possible. You want to return everything he gives to others."

"It's fine to have selfish reasons like that. Besides, there's nothing wrong with wanting to see someone you care so much about happy as much as possible. If anything, your selfishness is probably why he is so selfless."

"How does that make sense?"

Kanzaki let out another sigh.

"Regardless... There was another reason I helped him out. This reason is a selfish one on my part. I know something like that is not what a Yamato Nadeshiko should focus on, but I need to do this."

"'This'? What do you mean?"

Kanzaki took a deep breath.

In a way it really felt like she was asking a dad for his son's hand in marriage.

Her heartbeat was beating a bit quicker than it probably should have, but that was not what she was focused on right now.

"I am going to see if I can join Hogo Squad."

There was silence between the two of them.

Kanzaki felt nervous about how Inukai would react.

Would he think it was a bad idea after the recent invasion?

Could he think of her as a rival for Oshiro's love?

Maybe he just didn't like or trust her enough to accept that.

Multiple things came to mind that made her get more nervous.

Although she was perfectly calm and collected on the outside, so no one could really tell she was having internal conflict.

"I..."

Here was the answer.

No matter what it was, she would accept it.

"I would really appreciate that! Thanks for telling me!"

Another surpsied for Kanzaki to get over.

"Eh? Huh? You are...fine with that?"

"Well, I mean, I can't really say whether you can join the squad or not, but... If you do then that'll make things a lot better. They are definetly down from what happened with Misó, but having you there will help out a bunch. You are too straightforward and honest to be a traitor or anything. Plus, it would help their ranking overall."

"So you figured it out? The reason why I wish to join them?"

"Of course. I was planning on trying to convince Shiro-chan to enter the B-Rank Wars. With Misó out of the picture there is no doubt that they can get far. That being said, I really think that with just those three they would only make it to the middle of mid-tier. With you there I know that they'll really improve and get up to the top tier."

"Could it be... Do you want to fight them?"

"Of course. Shiro-chan never wants to practice much with me, so this is my change to really go against him. It would really help if you were there with them."

Kanzaki couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face.

Even with the tense atmosphere that seemed to suffocate Hogo Squad, Inukai, who had just seen them, was getting passed that suffocation and trying to help out not only his boyfriend but also his squad.

It was things like this that made Kanzaki happy.

Knowing all of this just raised her want to join the squad.

Now she too wanted to get to the top tier so that Hogo Swuad could face off against Ninomiya Squad.

"You know-"

"What's more is that if you are him while the other two as well..."

A sly smile appeared on Inukai's face as he pulled a familiar and hideous abomination from seemingly nowhere.

"Maybe I could finally get him into this Fallen Angel Super Ero Maid outfit! I was able to get it tailored so that it fits guys and flat chested girls!"

That seemed to cause something to snap in Kanzaki's mind as she too pulled something out.

"Trigger on..."

Not knowing of the terrors that would befall him if he did not leave right then and there, Inukai just continued to talk another how good Oshiro would look in such an evil thing.

As he spoke, Kanzaki pulled out her blade and looked ready to cut both the clothing and the person up,ding it into multiple pieces.

"Senku..."

* * *

"And that's what happened."

"I...see... Kanzaki-san, is Haru-san still alive?"

"Yes. I decided to only cut up that hideous thing he was holding."

"Oh god, thank you! I say we let her join!"

Oshiro let out a sheepish laugh as he sat if front of Kanzaki.

Hitsugi could be seen praising Kanzaki as if she was a goddess.

Which, to be fair, might be true after cutting up such an evil piece of clothing.

Kimura let out a sigh from her desk before getting up and walking over to the three.

"So, what do you think, Captain? I personally don't mind having her around and, as you can see, that crazy girl is also fine with her being here."

Oshiro gave a small hum.

"I am fine with it as well. The only thing is..."

He looked at Kanzaki with an uncertain look.

She looked back at him with a calm expression.

"Are you sure you want to join our squad? I figured you wouldn't want to see us after... _that_. I know you helped us, which I'm grateful for, but I thought that was just because you didn't want _h_ im to mess us up."

"Joining Hogo Squad is just a selfish desire I have. I will try not to cause any trouble and will assist in any way possible."

"No, no, no! There's no doubt that you're way better than any of us! It's just that there are a lot of better squads that could get you to A-Rank quickly. I mean... We haven't even been in a single team battle. Other than trainining of course."

"That is fine. Like I told Inukai, I want to help you out as much as you help others out. These two are probably doing the same thing, so I figure that me joining should less the burden you have by running around for other people."

Oshiro truly felt like he was fighting a losing battle at this point.

There was just no proper argument he could use against her.

Everything she had been saying just solidified the fact that she wanted to join his squad and would not take "No" for an answer.

Not being able to come up with anything, Oshiro let out a small hum and sigh.

"Very well. It looks like I really wanted win this fight."

He gave her a kind smile.

"Welcome to the team, Kanzaki-san. Please watch over us well."

"Likewise. Please take care of me."

Kimura smiled at the interaction between the two while she pulled Hitsugi away from their new member.

Seeing the squad like this brought back some memories.

Those memories led to reminders.

Those reminders led to her want to talk to certain people.

Deciding that it was the best thing to do now that she had some free time, Kimura walked over to her desk and grabbed a few of her things,

"If you will all excuse me. I have somewhere to be."

"Where the heck are you going?"

"I need to have a chat with some idiots. Then I need to go check up on something. I'll see you all later. Oh, and welcome Kanzaki-san."

"Thank you. And Kanzaki is fine."

She gave a small nod before making her leave.

* * *

Kimura let out a sigh as she saw what could described as a disaster zone.

In the middle of this disaster was a girl with a hime-cut hairstyle and a boy who resembled a walking corpse.

These were two people that she was familiar with, yet didn't think she would have to personality come to for this kind of reason.

"Mei-san, please don't actually kill him. And Mukuro, please stop talking in general."

* * *

 **I apologize for the grammar, the punctuational any misspelling, the length of the chapter, the chapter itself, the dialogue dumps, and the overall everything about this chapter and previous ones.**


End file.
